Devil Ärms: ReturnerS
by Harouki
Summary: Three years after the event of StarS and barely a year after the Mariage Incident, a new threat looms over the TSAB. Out from the darkness, a shadow returns to protect the small light. Rated T for now. The "Nonexistent" sequel to Devil Ärms: StarS. OCxCC
1. Chapter 1: Return to Start

_Nothing truly ever ends. It is simply the return of a new beginning._

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: Return to Start<strong>

In the middle of a empty steel room with the only source of light coming from the single bulb in the center of the room above a table. There, sat a woman wearing the uniform of the maximum security prison, handcuffed, looking extremely bored and impatient, occasionally looking away from her nails and toward the door at the opposite end of the room.

Finally, the door opened and an extremely exhausted looking young man walked through.

"About time!" the woman said, slamming her hands on the table. "How long does it take to get through the security check on a routine visit?"

"I'm sorry Miss Kimura," the man said pushing his glasses up. "But I was accosted in the middle of the check..."

"Accosted? By who...oh no..."

"Hi!" A cheerful woman wearing a dark blue uniform with mint green hair popped out from behind the bespectacled man. "It's been a while...Aoi is it?"

"Lindy..." Kimura Aoi, said as she placed her hand over her eyes and slid it down her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Come now," Admiral Lindy Harlaown said as she sat down across from Aoi. "Is that anyway to greet a friend you haven't seen in over twenty years?"

"It's the only way you could possibly greet one," Aoi said indifferently. "So? What are you doing here?"

"Is it too difficult to just believe I wanted to say hi to an old friend who played matchmaker for me?"

"It is when you are interrupting my monthly free time with idle chat."

She tossed a glare at the man as if saying this was all his fault, and he recoiled badly.

"Uwaaa...if looks could kill," Lindy said, looking between the two.

"I'd be here for the rest of my life. So? What's this month's news, Nathaniel?" Aoi said leaning back on her chair.

"Right..." The man called Nathaniel said as he looked through his data pad.

"The Aizawa couple still hasn't contacted anyone so they're still probably engrossed in a dig site on some random planet...again. Miss Aizawa has finished her pilot's school and received top honors in her courses. Miss Nakajima is continuing her work as a member of the Gulf Special Rescue Unit. Your daughter is keeping her grades up in her courses and has expressed a desire to join the TSAB armed forces. Your husband has also asked me to book him a shuttle so that he'd be able to visit Mid-Childa for your daughter's birthday. Mister Dalton is keeping close contact with the last two and continues to be a vital part in your daughter's emotional stability. As for Miss Lanster and Mister Kaufman, everything they touch becomes classified, so I can only assume they are in the middle of a big case."

"I see," Aoi said as she sighed. "So there aren't any new developments."

"You're keeping tabs on friends and family while you're in prison?" Lindy asked.

"Is that bad?"

"Not really. Even prisoners should be able to know what's going on on the outside. And its not like you're contacting an evil terrorist group or anything."

"How is it that in all this time, you haven't changed a bit? Neither physically or mentally?"

"It's the mystery of life!"

"So? What did you want?"

"How much longer is your sentence?" Lindy asked with a smile on her face.

Aoi shrugged her shoulders and glanced at Nathaniel who checked his data pad.

"About seven more years," he replied.

"Well?" Aoi asked.

"Check again," Lindy said, her smile growing.

"I don't see...huh? That...what?" Nathaniel raised his glasses and started pressing a lot of buttons on his data pad.

"What's wrong?" Aoi asked.

"It suddenly got reduced to...seven days...?"

"What did you..." Aoi quickly turned toward Lindy looking incredulous.

"If you are willing to return to the TSAB, we are willing to drop the rest of your sentence, provided that you remain on active duty until you are physically and or mentally incapable of doing so," Lindy said as she took out a piece of paper along with an insignia of a captain. "You'll be provided with a ship and you can pick whatever crew members you desire, provided they are not unavailable due to 'special' circumstances."

"What...I...I...how...why...huh?" For the first time in her life, Aoi was completely speechless.

"I believe she's trying to ask, 'Why are you doing this?'" Nathaniel said helpfully as Aoi nodded her head.

"To be frank, we do not have that many skilled commanding officers anymore," Lindy said with a sigh, pouring herself a drink from the tea set on the side of the table. "The more...realistic...of our officers believe that the only reason the TSAB still even exists is because we have quite a small collection of 'One Man Armies' enlisted. Should they all become incapacitated, we may eventually lose a lot more than we can afford."

"But I'm still just one person," Aoi said picking up the sheet of paper and looking it over before handing it to Nathaniel for a twice over.

"But you also have the respect of over seven admirals and twenty vice-admirals," Lindy pointed out, now scooping sugar into her tea. "Of course, that includes my son and myself as well. You're actions two years ago have also made you somewhat of a legend among the soldiers as well. A former Ace rising from the dead after twenty-three in front of the military force that condemned her to save the day and then turns herself in for the crime she once committed. Sounds...inspiring don't you agree?"

"If that's the case, why only give her the rank of captain?" Nathaniel asked. "If she is that admired, shouldn't she return to her former rank of Admiral?"

"Let me guess, bureaucracy at its finest?" Aoi asked.

"There's only so much one can do for a 'convict' without completely ruining their image after all. This was as far as we could get them to slide."

Aoi nodded then looked at Nathaniel who returned the paper to her.

"Everything seems to be in place, ma'am," he said as he folded his hands behind him.

"I see...tell them I accept the terms," Aoi said signing the paper with a pen that Lindy gave her and handing the paper back to Nathaniel.

"I'll go and process this," Nathaniel said folding the contract and placing it in his pocket. "You still have an hour left ma'am. Feel free to spend it however you wish."

As he left, the atmosphere between the two women lightened up considerably

"Where did you find him?" Lindy asked, referring to Nathaniel..

"He was my assistant during my trial," Aoi said as Lindy poured her a cup of tea but she refused to let her put any sugar in it. "I'm sorry about Clyde."

"He did his duty," Lindy said simply. "Like your son."

"Humph...his duty was always to come back home. He's failing so far."

"You think he's alive?"

"I know he is. I wonder if he's not coming back because he fears...punishment."

"You really have changed," Lindy noted with a smile. "You never used to joke like that."

"Is that so?" Aoi asked raising an eyebrow. "I guess being a mother changes things."

"I know that feeling all too well. So about your crew...?"

"I already have people in mind. I can take whomever I wish, correct?"

"Within reason."

"Then please prepare their transfers for me..."

* * *

><p>At the far edges of the galaxy, a shuttle was moving across the sky toward a flashing beacon on the planet.<p>

"I can't believe they're all the way out here," a man wearing a black uniform of the Enforcers said as he looked at the monitor. "You sure this is the right place, Tea?"

He turned to the woman sitting in the co-pilot's seat next to him. She had long orange hair and was wearing the female variant of the Enforcers' uniform.

"They did say they had to bounce the signal off of fifteen relays to get to us," she said, sharing her partner's disbelief. "Just make sure you don't end up hitting a mountain while navigating through this sandstorm, Edward."

"One time! One time!" Edward replied shaking a finger at her. "One time, during a freaking electrical storm, that fried all of our sensors and navigation equipment!"

"And we were left on that mountain for five days before rescue arrived..."

"And I apologized and bought you dinner for the love of..."

"Wait...what the heck happened down there!"

Edward turned toward the monitor that finally had the excavation camp in view, or at least what remained of it.

"Hurry and take us down!" Tea ordered him as he pushed hard on the controls.

They landed a little ways away from the ruined camp and carefully made their way to it, on the look out for whatever it was that destroyed it. All the tents and crew housings were completely destroyed, but the damage was not natural.

"No signs of damage by animals or anything," Edward said as he pressed against a wall, only for it to fall backwards, revealing a perfect diagonal cut. "Yeah...definitely not natural."

"But where is the team?" Tea asked. "You don't think they're..."

"They better not be, or he would never forgive us," Edward said before covering his mouth with his hand. "Ah...sorry. Didn't mean to bring him up like that...

"It's fine..." Tea insisted. "Let's find that stupid couple before...who's there?"

She drew her device, Cross Mirage, and turned toward someone who had just arrived.

"Don't point that thing at me! I am not in the mood for it right now!" the woman said.

"Kasumi?" Tea asked as she deactivated Cross Mirage.

"Whoa...what happened to your eye?" Ed asked as he ran up to them.

Aizawa Kasumi stood in front of them, her left eye covered by a patch.

"I dunno," she said, filled with sarcasm as she threw her hands up into the air in frustration. "Probably punched by the same jerk ass who vandalized the excavation site!"

"It was just a question..." Ed said softly.

"Is everyone else okay?" Tea asked, ignoring him.

"Thankfully, despite using extremely deadly force, he didn't actually kill anyone," Kasumi said as she motioned for them to follow her. She lead them to a building that had been hidden by the planet's sandstorms where the rest of the team were trying to rest. Every single one of them had an injury of some sort. "He just felt the need to break a few bones as well as a stab or a concussion here and there while he trashed our findings."

"Are you okay with medical supplies?" Tea asked as she stepped over someone that was sleeping on the rock hard floor.

"We're making due. There's nothing urgent but some people might be more comfortable in a real hospital. Shou's doing the best he can. Frankly, I'm more concerned about this temple collapsing, but it's been holding strong for over a thousand years, and even then, the stone shows no sign of deteriorating."

She lead them towards an inner chamber where there was rubble everywhere.

"Ahhh...the murals..."

She sadly picked up a rock before it crumbled in her hands.

"Kasumi!" A man wearing a white coat and glasses ran up to them. "Oh, Teana-san, Edward-san, it's been awhile."

"So...you broke your arm?" Ed asked. "And you managed to still patch everyone up?"

"Isn't he the best?" Kasumi asked as she wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Later, dear...we managed to translate what was engraved on the wall," Shou said as he shook her off. "Come over here."

"Translate? Did the assailant leave a message?" Tea asked.

"At first we thought it was some form of ancient language, since he didn't speak in one we recognize...but the characters are from the English alphabet...just in some kind of code."

"So what does it say?" Ed asked.

"'Hosedjkhisk. Horahkx. Hokihd'" Shou read. "Reconstruct. Rebirth. Return."

"How alliterative, any idea what it means?"

"Hmm...while I have no idea what the other two means...wasn't a certain king reborn recently Two of them in fact?" Kasumi asked looking at Teana.

"The Saint and Flame Kings..." Teana replied softly. "So...what was reconstructed and what is returning?"

"If I may make a savvy guess," Ed said as the other three turned to him. "Whatever made these ruins in the first place, or it could be the guy that attacked you."

"Or it could be talking about the Mariage," Shou said. "They were rebuilt, then the Flame King was reborn, and they returned to cause havoc."

"Graaaahhh...this is so frustrating!" Kasumi screamed, scratching her head with both hands furiously. "Can't we just ask him?"

"Who?" Tea asked.

"The Flame King. He might be able to make heads or tails out of this. Not to mention he owes us a favor for saving him and...he's a girl isn't it?" Kasumi added looking at Tea's face. "Damn it...why did people insist on calling women rulers 'Kings?' What's wrong with 'Queen?' Damn sexual inequality."

"The problem is something else entirely," Tea said shaking her head. "She's currently in a coma and she probably won't wake up for a long time..."

"Director!"

A member of the excavation team came hobbling up to them holding a small device.

"Damn it, I told you to stay off that leg for two days!" Shou said stopping the man.

"I apologize sir, but we managed to recover something from the camera."

The man turned on the device and a screen popped up and revealed the room they were in.

There were flashes coming from the doorway along with screams as the security mages were trying to fend off an unknown attacker. The assailant, dressed in jet black clothing was walking through their fire, ignoring the small arms fire and warped to each mage and incapacitated them with either a stab through their arms and legs or a strike to their heads and necks with his hands. And then he walked to the center of the room and looked up at the camera, revealing a two faced mask. One half was a skull and the other plain metal.

"Ahhh!"

Everyone jumped as they turned to Ed who had called out.

"That's the guy! That's the guy I saw way back when!"

"What are you talking about?" Tea asked.

"Remember? Back on Planet Earth? When I was gonna die in that bunker! I saw that guy before I blacked out and then woke up in that weird dark dome thing and saved your butt!"

"Then what the heck is he doing all they way out here?" Kasumi asked.

"Maybe he's trying to hide something?" Shou asked. "He appeared two days after we uncovered this chamber after all. And he also destroyed most of our recording equipment. Everything that we found in the last week is gone.

"Not everything...per se."

Everyone turned back to the cryptic message the man had left behind.

"Reconstruct. Rebirth. Return."

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Hai gaiz I'm back!

Really, that last chapter was filled with so much denial I wonder how many of you actually bought it? Maybe I should stop asking for reviews. I mean, the majority of the fanfics are geared toward yuri pairings after all (something that didn't really bother me until some jack ass left me a pretty little review saying that I sucked for having an OC and not a pairing between Teana and Subaru but meh...). There are only twenty of you, based on the traffic stats, that actually read it. Of course not everyone can read it day one so there might be a few more of you out there, but hey...thanks for sticking around. This series will answer everything.

Also as you may have noticed, I'm dropping first person perspective in this writing. Third person is so much more free and I can do so much more with it. Like...have fun.

Cookies to anyone who knows where the poem at the top comes from. Oh and keep it to yourself okay?

Oh and the Three Rs are important. So important that I'm gonna be referencing it a lot in the next one or two chapters. Think about it as you read okay? Some of the character's theories might be right, or they might not. But there is the possibility that I already answered what they mean.

Updates will be around once a week or two. I am having a lot of fun with this right now and am high off of inspiration reading other fanfics. So i ask that you give me your patience for another year or so. I hope to please.


	2. Chapter 2: Apparition of the Lost

_The things you lose will always find its way back to you.  
><em>

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Apparition of the Lost<strong>

A lone man drifted around in a dark and unknown place. There was no sky. There was no natural light. There was no earth. It was a place similar to dark space, but the surroundings were constantly moving. This was a pocket between dimensions, one of millions, accessible only by him.

In front of him was a single monitor, that remained in front of his masked face as he drifted. On the monitor was a small girl lying on a bed inside a place called the Saint Church.

"**My king...my dear King Ixpellia,"** He spoke in a hollow voice that echoed throughout the dimension. **"Centuries have passed since I was forced from thy side...since I failed to protect thee. The galaxy has changed. Our grand kingdom, reduced to sand and ruin...and thee...forcefully woken from thy slumber...to be used as a tool in war...then cast back to thy sleep. I should come for thee and protect thee from the foolish humans that continue to wage war...but...it's different now...thou hast found others...they can protect thee and fulfill thy wish. Thou dost not need only to rely on thy knight any longer..."**

He raised his hand toward the screen, as if reaching out to the girl before letting it drop to his side, his glowing red eye floating in the socket of his skull half closed.

"**Forgive thy knight...for he...shalt never again...be able to walk by thy side...for in order for thy to regain thy life...this one must..."**

The screen vanished as the man disappeared through a portal that had appeared above his head.

* * *

><p>"Hmmmmmm...finally done!"<p>

Subaru Nakajima was lying down on her couch having just finished writing all of her reports. She stretched her limbs outward before letting them fall down as she tried to find a comfortable position to lie on, pushing her ponytail off her face.

"Uuu...I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep in days..." she grumbled as she rubbed her eyes against the couch cushion. She had been having the same recurring nightmares for weeks, involving the desert planet and the person she couldn't save back then, and now she was having one where her friend would never wake up again. "Sakura-chan's getting worried too...I wonder if I should get some professional help..."

As she straightened herself up, her device, Mach Caliber began beeping.

"_You have a call, partner,"_ it said. _"It is Mister Aizawa. Would you like to accept?"_

"Shou-san? What does he want? Accept the call."

The video call opened up and Subaru could see the bespectacled man on the other end.

"It's been a while, Subaru-san. Screening calls now?" he asked with a small laugh.

"Not at all, I was just in the middle of some work and didn't want to be distracted," she replied. "Did you need something? Where are you right now?"

"I actually just got back to Mid-Childa right now," he replied, rolling his shoulders. "I have something I wanted to talk to you about, so how about a date?"

"Adultery?"

"I won't tell if you won't, haha...but joking aside, this is important and I need your feedback on it. Normally I wouldn't discuss this over dinner but I haven't been able to eat on the flight back. Can you meet me at this restaurant in about an hour?"

Subaru took a quick look at the clock on the wall. It was a bit early but she was feeling a little hungry and it would be good to get some fresh air after spending all day working.

"Yes, I think I'll be able to make it."

"Excellent. I'll see you there. Oh, and feel free to dress casually."

He gave her a two fingered salute before ending the call.

"What exactly does he need my help with?" Subaru wondered. "Is it something he excavated? Wouldn't that be more of Scrya-san's field?"

Nevertheless she decided to get ready for the dinner "date."

* * *

><p>She arrived at the destination, and found Shou sitting on the patio area, drinking coffee by himself. He set his cup down when he saw her and waved to her.<p>

"Yo, glad to see you found the place okay," he said as she sat down in front of him.

"What happened to you?" she asked, eying his cast and sling.

"It's part of the reason I wanted to talk to you about. But first, how about ordering something? This place has an interesting automated system..."

The two of them ordered their food and spent a good amount of time with idle chatter, and were nearly finished with their main courses before Shou got down to business.

"Right...anyway, the reason I called you out here is because Kasumi and I believe we may have found something related to the Flame King Ixpellia," he said bluntly.

"Really? Subaru asked, setting down her utensils.

"Unfortunately, right after we did, our site was attacked and all our recorded findings were deleted and everything we excavated was destroyed."

"I-I see..." Subaru said as her shoulders dropped in disappointment. "So why did you think it was related to Ix?"

"That's because we were attacked a few days after the Mariage Incident, by this man."

He pulled out a small photograph containing the man from the security feed.

Subaru took the photo from him and looked at it. The man

"He was directly attacking the excavation site, and although he was using deadly force, he did incapacitated the entire team quickly and non-lethally. After that he proceeded to destroy everything, and then he left behind a message. 'Reconstruction. Rebirth. Return.' And we think the Rebirth part has to deal with Ixpellia's revival."

"I see...but Ix is..."

"Yes...she is currently in no condition to do anything...that is why I think she's part of the reason this man is here."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't share this theory with the others but what if this man is kind of like the Mariage? That his appearance coincides with the rebirth of Ixpellia. Like a black knight seeking its master."

"But Ix never mentioned anything about that," Subaru replied, feeling more and more uncomfortable about the topic.

"Is that so...? I wonder if I'm on the wrong track," Shou said, folding his arms and leaning back on his chair. "Out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to have a picture of her?"

"Ah, yes I do. Though you might be a little surprised."

Subaru reached into her bag and handed him a small photograph and smiled slightly as Shou's eyes widened.

"Since when did Sakura-chan have a twin?" he asked, shifting his glasses slightly and examining the picture more closely.

There were three girls in the picture. Subaru was in the middle and two near identical girls were standing by her side. One had short black hair and blue eyes, and the other had longer red hair and green eyes. Other than that, they were both identical.

"I thought that too," Subaru said, taking the photo back. "Though it did allow them to become fast friends..."

"How is she doing anyway, Sakura-chan I mean."

"Her grades are pretty good all things considered," Subaru said taking a sip of her drink. "Though she's taken an interest in martial arts recently. Especially ones where she can use her legs."

"Well they are cybernetic after all," Shou said, finishing off his steak. "She can do a lot of damage with them."

"Though it's amazing how much agility she has. It's like she was never confined to a wheelchair at all."

"Well...she's related to _them_ after all," Shou said with a wry smile and Subrau couldn't help but giggle softly as well.

"Their family certainly is strange," she admitted. "Though not as strange as mine."

"Haha...well it's about time for me to leave. I'll take care of the check," Shou said as he grabbed the bill as he stood up. "You can go ahead and leave. I'm gonna think to myself for a bit."

"Okay," Subaru said as she stood up. "Are you going to be leaving again?"

"No, I think we're going to hang around for a bit. And I have this feeling we're going to be seeing each other again real soon. Take care now."

"Yeah, you too."

As Subaru left, Shou rested his forehead on the back of his hand and sighed.

"In the end, my theory was neither confirmed nor dismissed," he mumbled. "What I lack is information...perhaps a trip to the Infinite Library might do me some good..."

As he stood up, he got a call on his device from an unknown number.

"Hello?" he asked through the sound only call.

"Am I speaking to Professor Aizawa?" the speaker asked.

"Yeah, who is this?"

"My name is Nathaniel Duel," the man identified himself. "I am a member of the TSAB forces, currently assigned as a 'caretaker' of sorts to Mrs. Aoi Kimura. She has a request that she'd like you to hear."

* * *

><p>Subaru wasn't exactly sure how she felt about Shou's questioning about Ix. To her it felt unemotional and ignorant of what the girl had experienced but that was because he had never got a chance to talk to her due to being off on an expedition.<p>

"No...I can't be feeling like this!" she said as she slapped her cheeks. "I gotta stay focused. Vacation ends tomorrow after all."

As she walked down the crowded street, something on the opposite side caught her eye. Not that it was exactly flashy or anything..but that it was impossible for it to be there at all.

A man wearing a black business suit was leaning against the wall of the building, looking right at her. He had fairly long white hair that fell past his ears and green eyes. He was looking directly at her and gave her a small smile before getting off the wall and walking the other way down the street.

"It...can't be..." she muttered as she turned around and followed him. It was all she could to keep herself from running across the busy car filled street.. "Crosswalk...crosswalk...where's the crosswalk?"

She found came across one pretty quick and thankfully people were already crossing it. However, the man had turned down an alleyway a bit earlier and she had to run to catch up. When she reached the alleyway, the man had turned left down the path and out of her sight.

"It can't be...it can't be...could it? No...no...he would have let us known...he wouldn't be walking away from me like this!"

Subaru was running as fast as she could after the man, but even though the man was walking at a normal pace, every time Subaru turned a corner after him, he was already making his around another corner.

Finally, the path ended in a small alley in between several apartment complexes, with the man nowhere to be found.

"Ha...hahaha...what am I doing?" she asked herself as she brought a hand over her eyes. "I was just seeing things...there's nothing here..."

But as she turned to leave the air around her grew cold, and the dumpsters were rattling against each other. She turned around just in time for a black portal to rise up from the ground as a black wolf-like creature walked out of it. It was growling with its fangs bared at her.

It's head had a mask the shape of a skull on it where a red gem laid embedded at the very center. It had four eyes as deep red as the color of blood, and its legs and back had some kind of armor on them. Rather than a wolf, it was more like a war hound.

"W-what is that?" Subaru asked, stepping back slightly. The beast took notice of her and began growling as it inched closer toward her. "Is it attacking?"

Sure enough, the beast lunched at her, trying to sink either its fangs or claws into her. Subaru dived to the side as it crashed into a dumpster, leaving an indent that made it look like a truck had hit it. "This is bad...I can't let that thing out into the streets!" Subaru thought as she activated her device. "Let's go Mach Caliber!"

"_Standby Ready!"_

With her Barrier Jacket and device activated, Subaru was ready to deal with the beast. She pounded her Revolver Knuckle and Typhoon Knuckle against each other as their gears began to turn.

The moment she activated her device however, the beast suddenly became extremely agitated as it began snarling at her and slowly started to circle around her. Then it lunged at her left arm with its claws extended.

"_Protection!"_ Mach Caliber said as Subaru used her left hand to create a barrier to stop it.

"Revolver..." Subaru began as Revolver Knuckle's gear began to rotate and fast speeds as she brought it up to the beast. "Cannon!"

She made contact with the beast's lower jaw, but it managed to lower the damage by somersaulting and putting some distance between them.

"It's like punching a concrete wall..." Subaru said as she shook her hand. "How can something so agile be so heavy?"

The beast shook its head and charged at her again, this time with its mouth open. Subaru tried to block it with a barrier again, but this time it broke through almost instantly.

"Oh no!" Ah cried as she used her arm to block the beast and it sank its teeth into her left device. Thankfully, the beast's teeth didn't reach her skin but she felt the metal device being crushed against her arm. "Ow ow ow! Let go darn you!"

"_Divine Buster!_" Mach Caliber said as a blue orb appeared over Subaru's Revolver Knuckle.

"Divine..." Subaru brought the orb next to the beast head and it seemed to rear its head back in fear before the orb exploded in a bright blue beam. "Busteeeeeerrr!"

The blast forced the beast off of her and into the ground. When the light cleared the beast lied their completely motionless. Subaru tried to catch her breath as she clutched her left arm in pain.

"Oh no...it's been totally wrecked," Subaru said looking at her Typhoon Knuckle. "At least I still can move my fing..."

Her eyes darted back at the beast who was slowly getting back onto its feet.

"No way! It was a direct hit at such close range!" Subaru said as she backed up. The beast was back on its feet and shook its head as if trying to throw the pain off of itself. There was no visible sign of damage as it began to creep up to her again.

"This is just like that time..." Subaru said as she raised her right arm up, ready to fight again. Her thoughts swiftly shifting from the battle on the desert planet back to the one right in front of her. But before the beast could leap again, a red blur rushed past her and collided with the beast, blowing it off its feet and into the wall.

"Subaru-san! Are you all right?"

It was Alexander Dalton, a fellow mage that specialized in dagger combat with ice elemental spells. He had the beast pinned to the wall with his dagger embedded into its neck.

"Alex-kun? What are you doing here?"

"You certainly weren't exactly subtle with your fight," he said as the beast threw him off, forcing him to leave his dagger in the beast's neck as he drew a second one out. "HQ noticed it right away and I was the closest one. So what is this thing?"

"I don't know, it just suddenly came out of nowhere and tried to eat me," Subaru said lifting her left arm slightly, showing Alex the damaged knuckle, who looked horrified.

The beast shook in pain trying to get the dagger out of its neck. What struck the two as strange, was that there was no blood coming out of it. It was clearly in great pain, so the cut was deep, and yet no blood was coming out. At least, not a liquid one.

Some kind of black particle was spilling out from the wound and floating up into the air before vanishing.

"This can't be a natural creature," Alex said as he tried to get on the creature's left as Subaru went to the right. "You don't think there are _more _of these things do you?"

"I hope not," Subaru replied as the creature decided that it was better off ignoring the dagger and had its eyes refocused on Subaru. "Just one of them is bad enough."

The beast lunched at Subaru once more, head first again. Subaru didn't bother putting up a barrier and dodged as Alex tried to get on top of it to stab its back but it wheeled around and took a swipe at his knees with its claws and he had to parry it instead.

"Subaru-san! Try punching the wound!" he called out.

"Roger!" she responded as Revolver Knuckle's gears started spinning again. "Knuckle...Duster!"

She managed to punch the end of the blade, causing it to shoot out through the beast's neck, causing it to howl and gargle in pain. The dagger kept on flying and would have probably flown through a building had Alex not grabbed it out of the air, and spun around, changing its directory and caused it to it the side of the beast's head, causing it to drop once again.

"Is...is it dead?" Alex asked as he slowly walked up to it.

"I don't know...it got up the last time," Subaru replied.

But it seems that this time it was dead as its body turned into the black particle it had been leaking and vanished.

"Yeah...that's definitely not natural..." Alex said picking up his discarded dagger, and examining it. "The blade is already dull...that thing has some thick skin...Subaru-san?"

Subaru had fallen to her knees and was panting and sweating heavily, clutching her left arm in pain. "You're injury must be worse than we thought," he said as he pulled her right arm around his neck and helped her up. "We need to get you some treatment."

"Alex! Onee-chan!"

A young girl came running up to them, her eyes widening when she saw them.

"Sakura, think you can call an ambulance?" Alex asked as Subaru was struggling to stay awake. "I think she's in a lot of pain."

"That's not necessary."

Sakura turned around and saw Shou walking up to them as well.

"My house is closer, we can take her there instead," he said.

"Shou-san?" Alex asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well...your little scuffle was drawing a crowd and I was on the way home so I thought I'd rubberneck for a bit. We need to take a different route though."

"Right...come on..."

Shou led them through another path where his car was parked and helped Alex lift Subaru into the car before the other three climbed in as well, with Subaru resting her head on Sakura's lap in the back and the two men up front. As Shou started the car and drove as fast as he could without out right breaking any traffic laws, he chatted with Alex.

"So...why was a civilian like Sakura-chan at a fight involving two TSAB mages?"

"I...I had to answer the dispatch since there wasn't another mage around for a few miles."

"And Sakura-chan just happened to be next to you too?"

"We were...hanging out."

"Ah...that explains a lot..."

"What?"

"Why Ed always said 'That damn Lolicon' when he referred to you."

Alex was silent for the rest of the drive to Shou's house.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

So...yeah...

Way, way, way back when before I started writing StarS, i saw this picture with Subaru and Ix and thought it was just some random fanart, as I didn't know who Ix was at the time and so i started using her as a mental image for Sakura. Well there you go...Ix and Sakura look the same except for hair and eye color. Also somewhere in my head, the soft spoken childhood friend became a sarcastic crazy genius. Guess you have to be if you married someone like Kasumi.

I also listened to all of Sound Stage X before I wrote this, and my god it was depressing. I freaking love "My Friend." But nevertheless, I'll be the first to mention that I may not have the entire story perfectly understood. There may be one or two things that will seem wrong but I have two things to say to that.

1. It's a fanfic (yes i'm pulling the my universe my rules card.)

2. I don't care.

Nevertheless, I want to keep the Canon characters' personalities as close to the original as well. So if someone seems just a bit TOO OOC please do not hesitate to tell me and I'll do my best to rewrite it. Subaru doesn't count as she's already more of an OC stand in than anything else. There may be quite a few other things that are completely wrong so please tell me, NICELY, and I'll fix it.

Also...I gotta ask...you four Canadian readers...how many times were you gonna read the first chapter? 19 hits and only 4 Visitors? Was it really that interesting? If so, I'm flattered.

**Gorgas:** I thought about that, but writing an entire "where they are now" segment just felt extremely wordy and pointless at the time so i just felt it was unnecessary. Besides, they'll all show up in time.

**Gureifox:** Perhaps, but not all of Six will show up. A few will, but not all. They have their own lives and responsibilities after all.

Oh and the evil wolf thing. How about that evil wolf thing? Is it evil enough? Is it mysterious enough? How about the shadow man? Is he interesting enough?

No? Too bad. See ya in Chapter 3! And really...if you're following me to my third story, the least you could do is give a little review on how I'm doing. More reviews means more inspiration. More inspiration means faster updates! ? Faster Updates means you win!


	3. Chapter 3: Zeal of the Ace

_As an Ace, one must always be prepared for victory.  
><em>

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Zeal of the Ace<strong>

"Well...I think that's the last of it. Can you bandage her up, Alex?"

"Sure."

"You're incredible! Being able to remove all those fragments with only one arm..."

"Thank you...but I still find it rather annoying."

They had managed to get Subaru to the Aizawa household in about ten minutes, speeding through every yellow light possible. Shou had managed to remove all the fragments from Subaru's arm but the girl was still panting and sweating in pain.

"Hmm...perhaps whatever bit her had some kind of paralyzing properties?" Shou wondered out loud as Sakura wiped the sweat off Subaru's forehead. "Can you speak?"

"A...little..." Subaru breathed before wincing in pain as Alex finished wrapping the bandage around her arm.

"Then you should be fine after a little rest...probably," he added before turning to the crushed Typhoon Knuckle. "Ahh...the gift has been all but scrapped. How long is this gonna take to fix?"

"Can...you?"

"Of course. It's just going to take awhile...especially with only one arm and with only my off hand, but I'll make it a priority. Feel free to spend the night if you aren't able to walk in the next few hours. Hope the bed is comfortable enough for you."

"Where's Kasumi-san?" Sakura asked, looking around. "Did she not come back with you?"

"She's in a meeting right now," Shou replied as he took out some tools from under his desk. "Would you like a tune up as well, or did you already get one?"

"Please..." Subaru replied as Sakura took Mach Caliber from her and handed it to Shou.

"_Be gentle_," it said.

"Ha ha, very funny."

He placed it next to the typhoon Knuckle before turning back to Sakura.

"So what do you plan to do? Do you want to stay here too?"

"Is it okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, but you'll have to use the couch."

"That's fine."

"Then I'll excuse myself for the day," Alex said as he headed toward the exit.

"Okay, see ya, Mister Lolipedo!"

"Don't call me that!"

"What? You're not one? It just so happens that the one you like is a loli?"

"What's a loli?" Sakura asked looking at the two of them.

"If I tell you your mom would kill me so ask Ed instead," Shou said pushing her toward Subaru as he walked closer to Alex. "It's not so bad being one, Sempai was one too."

"I...really find that hard to believe," Alex said, his eyes focusing on Subaru. "And I am not one!"

"Where did you just look?" Shou asked, his sneer growing.

"At her height!"

"So it's Hikaru Genji then?"

"Where are you getting these ideas from Shou-san?" Alex asked, backing away from him.

"A very very informative teenage lifestyle," Shou said pushing his glasses up with a big smile. "Bye bye now."

Alex didn't like being made fun of but he knew he wasn't going to win a verbal fight with Shou so he just sighed and left, waving goodbye to the girls.

"Nice kid, he's certainly lightened up over the last two years," Shou said as he returned to his desk. "Still fun to bug him though. Now, time to get to work."

Shou's life had changed a lot in the last two years. He had been involved in a war from the future relating to a civilization outside his home planet, he married his childhood friend and watch the other give his life to save everyone else, and he had also became the fastest person in the history of the TSAB to receive a doctorate in medicine and engineering at the age of 20. A lot of hospitals had asked him to come work with them but he decided to open a small clinic instead, since his main passion was following his wife on archeological digs.

Speaking of which, the lady in question seems to have returned.

"I'm home!" Kasumi called out as she opened the door. "Hmm? Guests?"

She took note of the two extra pairs of shoes at the doorway as she came into the examination room.

"Geh...what happened to you?" she asked looking at Subaru's dazed state.

"Seems like she was attacked my some kind of new species," Shou said spinning his chair so that he faced her. "One that's openly hostile to...humans...?"

Shou said the last word slowly, folding his arms and thinking about it for a second before shrugging his shoulders and returning to his work on repairing Subaru's device.

"Good evening, Kasumi-san!" Sakura greeted Kasumi with a bow who smiled and nodded in return. "It's been a while."

"Yep, looks like you're doing okay."

"What happened to your eye?" she asked looking at Kasumi's eye patch as the latter quickly moved her hand over it.

"Umm...some of those ancient temples have a lot of traps," Kasumi lied.

"Nice save," Shou thought as he attempted to pry two sheets of metal from each other, something that was proving extremely difficult with only two fingers.

The two of them continued to talk as Shou worked on the device and Subaru worked the beast's venom out of her system, which included a lot of vomiting. So much in fact that Kasumi had to take Sakura out of the room after the fifth one.

It was around midnight before her symptoms let up and by that time Sakura was already sleeping on the couch and Kasumi returned to the room.

"You done dying yet?" she joked checking Subaru's temperature and placing a bowl of soup next on the nightstand next to the patient's bed.

"Please tell me you were not the one that made that," Shou said, swiveling around in his chair. "We don't need a repeat of the past five hours..."

Subaru looked nervously at the contents relaxing in the bowl as Kasumi kicked Shou's chair out from underneath him.

"Sakura made that," Kasumi said as she hoisted Shou back up from the back of his collar, not hiding her annoyance. "And I saw that!" she added turning to Subaru who had sighed in relief.

"Sorry," Subaru said, unable to hide her smile as she managed to sit up.

"Think you can eat?" Kasumi asked as she pulled a tray from a cupboard from the wall opposite of Subaru's bed.

"I'm starving," Subaru replied honestly.

"Considering you had expelled the toxins along with today's dinner...I wouldn't be surprised," Shou said pushing his glasses back onto his face.

"Sorry..." Subaru said as she brought a spoonful up to her mouth. Her body began to warm up considerably as she quickly had another.

"Am I missing something here?" Kasumi asked, looking at her husband.

"We had our chat over dinner," Shou said simply as he straightened his collar by running his finger along the front. Subaru thought Kasumi would inquire further but she simply nodded her head in understanding allowing him to return to tuning Subaru's device.

"Lucky, I had to wait for Yuuno-san to finish his first work before he could talk to me."

"Now then...it's time we got to the important bit," Kasumi said as she turned to Subaru who had just finished her late meal. "What were you doing in that alley? From what I gathered, you were already there before the beast had even arrived."

Subaru's heart sank as she removed the tray from her lap. There was no reason for her to hesitate, but she feels like they wouldn't believe her, especially since they had already accepted the fact that he was dead, but Kasumi had an uncanny ability to spot lies so there was no real point in lying either.

"I saw...I thought I saw him..." she answered in an uncharacteristic small voice.

Kasumi stared blankly at her for a moment before sighing and leaning back against Shou's table, being careful not to bump into any of his instruments. She then checked her watch for the date and sighed again.

"So...what? A ghost?" she asked.

"I don't think so...people were moving to the side to avoid bumping into him on the street."

Kasumi sighed again as she pressed the area between her eyebrows. She knows that there was no way in hell Subaru, for more reasons than one, would mistake her old boyfriend for someone else to the point of chasing him down a few blocks.

On the other hand, the man was long dead.

Shou seems to be thinking along the lines, as he was still attempting to screw in the same bolt for the last two minutes.

"Hey..." Kasumi muttered turning to Shou who looked back at her.

"Isn't that just a bit too far-fetched?" he replied. At first, Subaru thought he was talking about her story, but then he continued. "For all we know the whole thing could just be a red herring."

"What are you two...?" Subaru asked as Shou turned his chair around again.

"Remember what I told you was left on the walls at the site?" Shou asked. "Reconstruction. Rebirth. Return."

Subaru nodded her head, comprehension slowly dwelling upon her.

"I doubt a man walking around with a bloodied arm would go unnoticed, so it's may not be too much of a stretch to say he's been 'Reconstructed,' but if it was truly Senpai, then he would have let everyone know he was alive, which may be the 'Rebirth' part. He might not have all his memories. I daresay a brush with death and two years of solitude might drive a man to forget things. And 'Return' should be obvious..."

"But what would a man in pure black be writing about...him...for...?" Kasumi began before smacking herself and dragging her hand down her face. "Duh..."

"Wait...you're not saying he's the one that attacked you are you?" Subaru asked.

"It would depend on which one you are talking about," Shou said calmly.

"And don't forget what he's been wearing on his hands for god knows how long by now," Kasumi added.

Subaru understood what they meant.

There were two people that were left behind that day, both of which had extremely powerful Lost Logia know as the Devil Ärms, a device that granted its wielder power limited only by their physical strength and imagination. But a lot of people that knew him before Subaru did had noted that he had changed dramatically from their memories, leading them to think the Logia may have been manipulating his personality and emotions. It wouldn't be the first one to and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Who's to say that it cant resurrect the dead as well?

"Well, it's all conjecture anyway," Shou said as he placed his hand on Mach Caliber. "Think you can show me what went on in that fight?"

"_Of course,"_ the device chimed as it transferred the video data to his device which began displaying a video of Subaru's fight with the beast. The three of them watched as the creature react in pain to the physical attack but get up so quickly when hit with a powerful magic based one.

"Yeah, that definitely ain't a natural creature," Kasumi said as Shou paused the video, showing the wolf-like creature as a whole.

"Some kind of armored plating," Shou commented. "Perhaps a war-hound?"

"So, what? Yet another ancient empire coming back to rear its ugly head against the TSAB?" Kasumi asked.

"Ancient Belka had many empires after all. At least we got a general time period."

"Because that completely narrows it down a lot right?"

As the two of them continued throwing theories at each other, Subaru turned to look at the image of the beast on the screen, its blood red eyes reminding her of another.

The next morning, Subaru and Sakura were getting ready to leave and return back to Subaru's apartment. Shou was the only one seeing them off as Kasumi's snores can still be heard from the master bedroom.

"Sorry, she's still hasn't reset her internal clock yet," he explained.

"What about you?" Sakura asked.

"I've been sleeping at odd hours since I was a teenager," Shou said thinking about the past. "Good times, good times...course that also meant three hours of sleep but..anyway, I finished the maintenance of Mach Caliber but the repairs are going to take a few more days. Might be faster if I feel like my arm's healed up enough. Anyway, you can take your device back but you'll only have your Revolver Knuckle."

"_Feels missing,"_ Mach Caliber chimed.

"I swear it's been getting mouthy around me," Shou mumbled under his breath.

Subaru thanked him as she returned Mach Caliber to its usual place. Shou and Kasumi hadn't said anything about him being alive or not after that first bit of the discussion they had last night. Whether it was out of concern for her or they just didn't believe it she didn't know nor did she feel like asking them about it.

Out of all his friends and family, only she, Sakura and his mother still believed that he was still alive. Everyone had long since given up. Though she remembered what his father had said, that it was sometimes better to be pessimistic, though Shou had called it realistic, as you aren't necessarily sad if you were disappointed.

"Well we'll be seeing you," Subaru said as she opened the door to leave, only to meet eyes with a very familiar blue haired woman wearing a strange green uniform, with an unfamiliar bespectacled man behind her.

"Hi," the woman said with a small wave and a large grin, as she watched the two girls' expressions change from shock to confused to fear.

"Ah," Shou said as he thumped his cast on his palm. "I knew I forgot to mention something last night."

"J-jailbreak?" Sakura asked as she stared at her mother, who had her hand on her mouth and was barely containing her laughter.

"No," the man behind Aoi spoke up. "Your mother's struck a deal with some higher ranking officials and will be part of the Bureau's military forces instead of being in prison."

"Who are you?" Subaru asked, looking at him.

"My name is Nathaniel Duel," he replied. "I have been assigned as Mrs. Kimura Aoi's assistant. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

"Oh," Sakura's eyes lit up in realization. "You're Amia-san's friend, Nathan-san, aren't you?"

"I don't know if...'friend' is the right word," Nathan replied, the corner of his mouth twitching. "We were classmates at the academy...and she often failed to respect my...privacy."

The way he talked about her wasn't one of hate, but of how one would talk about an embarrassing sibling. He likes her but would sometimes wish she would just go away.

"So the thing about the dress..." Sakura began and Nathan cleared his throat, indicating that he does not wish to talk about it.

"Can we come in?" he asked Shou, who looked like he was really interested in what the dress was about.

"Sure," he replied. "Come in, come in. What are you two going to do?"

He asked the question to Subaru and Sakura. The two girls looked at each other for a second before Sakura spoke.

"Can we stay for a bit longer?" she asked.

"Sure," Shou replied. "How about some breakfast as well?"

"Oh, let me help with that," Subaru said as Shou shut the door behind them.

* * *

><p>"Why are you here?" Sakura asked her mother who was happily sipping some of Shou's freshly brewed coffee. "Did you have business with Shou-san?"<p>

"Yeah," she replied as she swirled her cup in her hands. "I also have something to ask of Subaru as well." She added as Subaru looked up from the kitchen counter where she was beating some eggs.

"Hmm? With me?" she asked before a worried look flashed across her face. "Um...did I do something wrong?"

"Not at all. Just wanted to thank you for taking care of my daughter for the last two years."

"Oh, it was no problem at all."

Since Shichiro, Sakura's father and Aoi's husband, chose to return to Earth to help rebuild their city, it would be hard for Sakura to live there during all the reconstruction so they asked Subaru to take care of her on Mid-Childa in the meantime. With help from certain influential friends, Subaru managed to get Sakura enrolled in St. Hilde Academy of Magic and in the same class as one of Sakura's new friends, Marika Lowell.

"How are you doing at school?" Aoi asked her daughter.

"Um, I think I'm doing fine," Sakura replied, sitting straight up.

"She's currently at the top of her class and fifth in her entire year academic wise and top in athletics," Nathan said looking up from his data pad. "And no I didn't have to check the school's database. Marika was happy to talk about you without my asking when I visited."

"It also seems you want to join the armed forces," Aoi said, setting down her cup.

"Is it okay?" Sakura asked looking at her mother.

"Of course," Aoi replied with a smile. "You're free to make your own choices. So long as you understand the consequences and dangers of doing so."

"I do..."

Aoi smiled as she rested her back on her chair. She knew her husband would definitely be against it. That would make the entire family soldiers after all.

"Well, she's no longer a child anymore," she muttered to herself.

"Mrs Aoi," Nathan whispered into her ear. "We need to hurry. We still need to oversee the construction after all."

"I know, I know," she replied dismissively. "Have you thought about the offer you received yesterday, Shou-kun?"

Sakura and Subaru turned toward Shou, who had his back toward them as he was pouring pancake batter into a frying pan.

"Yeah, I thought about it," Shou replied. "Overall, I'm wary about it."

"What are you talking about, Okaa-san?" Sakura asked.

"As according to the terms of my early release," Aoi began picking up her cup. "I'll be in charge of my own special task force that, with the support of quite a few admirals, will be given autonomy from the normal armed forces. Though we have no official directive, our goal is the safety and protection of the people. We can choose to be peacekeepers, a military force, or a rescue squad at any time and on any planet. Officially, we're the 501st Battalion, operating under the command of Admiral Lindy Haralown. Still don't have any ideas for a codename though."

"Then," Subaru began turning toward Shou. "What are you worried about?"

"Nothing about the idea itself," Shou replied turning off the stove and placing a large stack of pancakes on the table. "No offense to those present, but I have absolutely zero trust in the TSAB."

There was a serious tone in Shou's voice, directly contrasting his personality for the past day.

"Cooperation within a collective cannot be achieved if the right hand is unaware than a left hand exists," Shou said. "The TSAB has too many secrets for its own well being, filled with corruption and lies, half of the incidents they suffered were the direct result of one or more secret groups' actions. As far as I'm concerned, the Bureau is nothing more than a nest filled with rats using others to achieve their own objectives. The bad far outweighs the good in my eyes."

Subaru understood where he was coming from. The last two incidents were caused by members within the Bureau. The Mariage Incident was from a member of the Enforcers, and the Neo-Belkan War was the result of a group of high ranking generals and admirals attempting to sieze control of another power lost logia by force.

"And that is why this task force is being created," Aoi said. "As I said, this task force is for the people, not the government. A pure incorruptible task force with the highest level of clearance able to act without the need for orders and yellow tape. One that would be strong and efficient enough to handle any kind of incident and resolve it quickly before there are any casualties, civilian or otherwise. And that's why we need you."

"An impressive sales pitch," Shou admitted sitting down at the table. "But I still remain unconvinced."

"Really?" Aoi asked. "Ayumi-chan seemed so much more enthusiastic about the whole thing."

"What?" Shou's eyebrows shot up at the mention of his cousin. "What does she have to do with this?"

"We need skilled people after all," Nathan replied. "And since she has already finished her pilot training, we were able to secure her placement into the task force. Of course it's not her piloting skill we are after."

Shou pressed the area between his brow and frowned. Ayumi was a well accomplished hacker, being able to understand everything there is to know about any kind of system within days. She had even managed to get through the Neo-Belkan system aboard the Stargazer and copy over most of the data unnoticed, or perhaps it was because the ship's captain simply didn't care. He also happened to know that Ayumi's grades at pilot's school were not 100% honest.

Seeing his resolve waver, Aoi decided to give him one more push.

"We were also thinking of asking Kasumi-chan to join as well," she said, a smile forming across her face.

"Fine...I'll talk it over with her," Shou replied.

"No need, let's just do it," A voice came from the hallway.

Kasumi was standing there, looking like she had just gotten out of bed. Her pajamas were half unbuttoned as if she had thought about changing before coming down but deciding against it halfway through, her hair was uncombed and she was yawning pretty badly.

Shou gave a long sigh before sitting upright, his back resting against the chair before saying, "You are burning the omelet, Subaru Nakajima."

Everyone turned to look at Subaru, who had froze in the middle of frying the eggs and she looked down at the frying pan just in time for the eggs to catch on fire.

"Uwaaaaah!" she screamed backing away from the stove, still holding the pan.

"Don't burn down the house!" Kasumi shouted rushing into the kitchen.

"The lid!" Sakura cried out. "Use the lid!"

* * *

><p>After that as Aoi and Nathan prepared to leave, Subaru came up to them.<p>

"What is it?" Aoi asked.

"Um...about the task force..." Subaru began.

"Oh? I thought joining the Gulf Special Rescue Unit was a goal of yours? Do you seek something else now that you've achieved that, Miss Silver Ace?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that..."

"I know, but that's how other people will see it. Besides, only people that have continually prove themselves will be able to join the 501st."

With that the two of them left leaving Subaru at the doorway.

"I..." she muttered as Mach Caliber started beeping.

"_You have new message partner,"_ it said.

"Huh?"

* * *

><p>"Really ma'am," Nathan said as he opened the door of the car for her. "Did you have to do it in such a roundabout way?"<p>

"That girl needs to change her perspective a little," Aoi said as she put away her device. "Someone who blames themselves for being unable to save another shouldn't belong in a rescue squad. It's a miracle she made it this far without making a critical mistake."

"Do you blame her for failing to save your son?" Nathan asked as he began driving to their next location.

"Of course not," Aoi replied indifferently as she propped up her head on her arm. "I just can't forgive her for believing that I do. I'm not that small of a woman. So what's the status on that secret project Lindy...Admiral Harlaown had going?"

"It's about 95% finished. It should be finished by the end of next month. We're heading there now so you can get a feel for the crew and its weapons."

"Really now...just how much faith are they placing on me?" Aoi asked as she opened the file.

* * *

><p>"Are you holding up okay?" Teana asked the person on the other side of her video call.<p>

"Yes," Amia Lee replied. "We managed to find a cheap apartment that's close to her school. It's a little cramped but we're making due."

"And how is your fa...how is Lieutenant Oswald Lee doing?"

"I...don't know..."

"You haven't gone to see him?"

"He refuses to see me..."

Two months ago, Amia's father, attacked a civilian transport while off duty but was stopped by Teana before he killed anyone. He was determined to be mentally unstable and diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He was admitted to a mental institute for treatment.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's not your fault, Teana. I'm just glad that you stopped him before it got too serious. Oh, my break's almost over."

"Okay, I'll call you again," Teana said as the call ended. She sighed as she pulled something out of her pocket. A pair of metal tags bearing the name "O. Lee." She thought about the words their owner left to her before he vanished. "In the end, I couldn't completely stop it, huh?"

"Oi, Tea!"

Her thoughts were interrupted as Ed came up to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked putting the dog tags away.

"It seems Subaru got herself in a bit of trouble," he replied showing her a file.

She quickly scanned through the file as her eyes opened wide in shock.

"She was attacked by an unidentified animal?"

"Looks like it. From her report, it seems that it just appeared in front of her while she was tailing someone suspicious and after she had lost him."

"Someone suspicious?" Teana repeated.

"Yeah, you're not going to believe this. Although she didn't say it in her file, apparently it was Yuu-san she saw," Ed said.

"Kuro? Here?"

"I know right? But there's no way she would lie about something like that. First some crazy guy attacks an old Belkan dig site, then a monster shows up, and now it seems Yuu-san has come back from the dead."

Teana stared at the file and pulled up the security recording of the man that attacked Shou and Kasumi's dig site. As she burned the images into her brain, she couldn't help but think of the cryptic message that was left behind.

"What in the world is going on here?"

* * *

><p>Author's note<p>

Fast update because stat tracker shows that I hit 100 visitors =D. Seriously, it seems I even got some new readers (or rereaders) based on the fact that I got an influx of traffic on LegendS for crying out loud. If you're new, leave a review. Cause really...why the hell would you read 40 some odd chapters and NOT say what a good job I'm doing to keep you interested for that long?

It seems a lot (read 3 =/) of you want Vivio in this just because Sakura learned some martial arts...

Honestly, I don't know if that's a good idea as I have little understanding of Vivid and...let's bit mince words here...it's painful for me to read the manga. I don't know why, but something about it screams "lame" to me. I admit it's not as bad as Force, but I'm not enjoying it as much I thought I would be. Maybe the whole, the memories of a powerful king was retained in the mind of a young prepubescent girl...or maybe it's the adult mode thing? Or perhaps I prefer the whole "militaristic" magic they've been going for rather than typical magical girl.

I never really tried to hide it, but I really do not enjoy the yuri under/overtones in this series and this just takes the cake. Nevertheless, I HAVE toyed with the idea, and if I find a good way to handle it, it will show up, just don't expect it anytime soon. The only way I can think of that makes sense right now is having a mass reunion of Riot Force 6, something that I am not keen on doing simply because I am not sure I can accurately portray everyone correctly. But bath scenes are nice...ohhh yesss...bath scenes...

But who knows. Maybe I'll throw it in as a recreational/breather chapter. After all, one can't have an entire series of non-stop action.


	4. Chapter 4: Generation of Soldiers

_The old generation cannot create the future.  
><em>

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Generation of Soldiers<strong>

"Are we almost there?" Sakura asked as she peered from behind the back seat.

"Maybe another five minutes," Kasumi, who was wearing the green uniform of the 501st special task force, said from the driver's seat. "And put your seat belt on! I don't wanna get pulled over."

"Umm...so why am I coming too?"

Marika Lowell was sitting in the back next to Sakura, feeling extremely out of place.

"Sakura-chan's mom asked us to bring you along," Subaru, who was sitting at the passenger seat, wearing the same green uniform as Kasumi. "Did Shou-san say anything?"

"Nope. He just got a call from her about three days ago and just disappeared. I guess he's busy with whatever it is they're having him do."

They arrived at the military base that was to be there new headquarters and parked in front of the main building. As they exited the car, the two older girls looked around with a small smile on their faces.

"It's a bit nostalgic, don't you think?" Kasumi asked Subaru.

"It's bee four years since then," Subaru replied with a nod.

"Four years since you first punched him in the face right?"

"Th-that was an accident!"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked as she and Marika walked up to them.

"Subaru's first impression with brother via right hook," Kasumi teased as she made a punching motion with her right hand.

"You punched your boyfriend when you first met him?" Marika asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm telling you it was an accident!"

"Looks like you made it!" a voice called out to them. Nathan Duel was walking out of the building and heading toward them. "Oh, you brought the other two too. Good."

"Good morning, Nathan-san," Sakura said with a small bow.

"Hello, Nathan," Marika greeted him as well.

"So are you going to tell us why you wanted us to bring the kids too?" Kasumi asked.

"In a moment, first the two of you need to report in."

He gestured for them to follow him and they headed into the building.

* * *

><p>"W-what the heck is that?" Kasumi shouted as they entered a hanger where a large ship was resting with dozens of engineers running around.<p>

"That is our ship, '_The Spirit of Terra_,'" Nathan explained. "We are technically part of the navy so it would make sense for us to have a ship of our own."

"But that looks like the Stargazer," Sakura said.

"I guess Mister Aizawa designed it with that in mind."

"Hah? Shou made that thing?"

"I only designed that thing," Shou said as he walked over to them. He looked a lot happier without the cast on his arm. "Apparently someone thought my blueprints, something I made while in between my classes, was good enough to turn into an actual ship."

"You shouldn't be so modest, Commander," Nathan said as he pulled out his data pad again.

"Huh?" Subaru asked. "What do you mean by 'Commander,' Nathan?"

"He is going to be Captain Kimura's Second-in-Command," Nathan said.

"Huh? You're not going to be it?" Kasumi asked.

"I'm just an assistant," he said with a shrug. "Though I have been familiarizing myself with the ship's weapon systems. Ensign Aizawa Kasumi will be our CIC operator and Corporal Subaru Nakajima will be the captain of our strike team."

"Me, a CO?" Subaru asked, pointing to herself. "I...I don't think I can."

"Don't worry, you'll be working with people you know. Alexander Dalton will be joining us later today and the other two members of your team are right there, if they want to of course."

Everyone looked toward where Nathan was pointing at.

"Where are they?" Sakura asked.

"I don't see anyone behind us," Marika noted.

However, Subaru and Kasumi understood immediately.

"Are you serious?" Kasumi asked as the two younger girls continued to look around for anyone that looked like a combat mages.

"Of course," Nathan said pushing his glasses up. "Both their guardians have already given their consent and some officers wanna see if they have the same talent as others in their family. As for their devices..."

Nathan looked over at Shou who nodded and walked over to them.

"Hey you two, you can stop looking around now," Shou said as he plopped his hands on their heads and they looked up at him. "Do you want your own devices?"

"Heh? Really?" Sakura asked, her eyes positively glowing.

"Our own devices?" Marika repeated, while not nearly as excited as her friend, she was almost bouncing on her feet.

"Yep. Since you both wanted to join the TSAB when you get out of school, we're going to do a little, 'internship' of sorts here. So you'll need your own devices to help out Subaru and Alex. Of course you'll have to be trained so we'll start right away."

The group followed Shou onto the ship and they were fairly surprised that the ship did not have the signature blue hue everywhere.

Shou's office had a mix of medical and mechanical equipment. On his metal workbench lay a pair of devices, in their standby states depicting two different hairpins.

"I love being a Device Meister," Shou said as he sat down at his workbench. "You get to try so many different things. Here, one for Sakura, and one for Marika. Sakura-chan's is a dual type like Subaru-san's Mach Caliber. You have the Armed Device Rivet Rail and the Intelligent Device Sound Harken. And as for Marika, you'll get the Intelligent Device Pulsfalken."

He handed the feather pin to Sakura and the bat pin to Marika.

"I created them with your athletic scores in mind, but let's head to the training field to test them out so you can see for yourself."

* * *

><p>The training field was very similar to the one at Riot Force 6. A large empty field that can instantly turn into a city with the use of projections.<p>

The two girls stood at the top of a building, admiring the sighs while Shou sat far off to the side at a console with a bunch of monitors keeping track of every location in the city. Behind him stood Subaru, Kasumi and Nathan.

"Okay girls," Shou said through the mic. "Since this will be the first time you are using your devices, we'll start with something easy. "From your starting position, make your way through the city toward the city center, from one of three different paths while taking out any targets in your way. Remember, the targets are marked with an upside down blue triangle and the red right side up ones are not to be destroyed."

"Roger," the two said in unison.

"Do we both have to take the same path or can we each go down one?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm...well all three paths have targets placed so that you two have to work together to take them down easily," Shou replied. "But it's not impossible for either you to take them down solo. It would just be a lot harder, especially since the two of you are still inexperienced, it is better to rely on your partner, understand?"

"Yes."

"Well then, prepare yourself."

"Nice to meet you, Sound Harken," Sakura said as she looked at the pin.

"_Ready to help,"_ a female voice responded.

"I'll be in your care, Pulsfalken," Marika greeted.

"_Jawohl,"_ a male voice replied.

Sakura became enveloped in a pink light and Marika was enveloped in a violet one.

"Pink? Really?" Kasumi asked tilting her head to the side.

"Someone has a sense of humor," Nathan said with a small chuckle. "Or no sense of taste."

The light faded and the two of them were equipped with their barrier jackets.

Sakura was wearing a black bodysuit with a short outer jacket that stopped just above her stomach, a red scarf wrapped around her neck and a plated skirt around her waist. The Armed Device, Rivet Rail were armored gloves with sharp metal nails and on her feet was the Intelligent Device, Sound Harken, which were something similar to ice skates.

Marika was wearing a purple vest with a gold trim as well as shoulder-less sleeves and a skirt that reached down to her knees. Her Intelligent Device, Pulsfalken, took the form of two pistols with a bladed edge under the barrel.

"Whoa, this is cool!" Sakura said as she looked herself over.

"It really is..." Marika agreed before looking at her friend. "Are you standing okay?"

"Yep, I love ice skating so this is no problem."

"I based the designs off of a lot of people," Shou explained. "Sakura-chan's Barrier Jacket was based off of Aoi-san's jacket. The device's forms were based off of Subaru-san's and Senpai's. Marika-chan's is based off of her parents' jackets and weapons as well."

The two didn't say anything but from the looks on their faces, they were extremely happy about the aesthetics.

"Right now about your devices abilities..."

He had two monitors pop up in front of the girls as he began his explanation.

"First off, we'll start with Marika-chan. Pulsfalken is a mid to close range device. They are machine pistols capable of firing in full-auto or in short bursts. Each individual shot doesn't hold much power, but you could fire a lot at once while expending only a little bit of energy and it doesn't take that long for it to cool down. At a distance, it is meant for covering fire but if you fire slowly you can accurately snipe targets too. The barrel blades may be sharp but they are meant to defend against opponents that prefer close range engagements. Use them to block not to attack. As for movement spells, you should be able to hover a bit off the ground which can be used to cushion falls as well as propel you up to the air. Did you get all of that?"

"Yes," Marika replied with a confident nod.

"Good. Now for Sakura-chan," Shou said as he took a sip of water before continuing. "Your device is a bit different than Subaru-san's. Rivet Rail is not an offensive weapon. It's main purpose is to produce chains to restrain and or connect targets. For example, you can connect one point by placing an anchor on the ground in front of you and another point by firing an anchor off to another point, like say the wall behind you."

"Like this?" Sakura asked as she pointed one finger at the ground, and one of the nails shot forward . She then pointed at the wall behind the two of them and a pink beam shot from the nail onto the wall. "Whoa, that's cool!"

"Glad you like it. Now, Sound Harken's blades are your main weapon. Figured you would enjoy them since you been taking a lot of martial arts that specialize in kicks. Anyway, what's special about Sound Harken is that..."

"Um...dear?" Kasumi interrupted him. "I don't think she's listening to you anymore."

Sakura was firing off anchors left and right until all ten of them were locked and placed. She then jumped on one of them and when her blades touched them she began to grind on the chains, moving up and down them with ease.

"Woohoo! This is amazing!"

"Be careful, Sakura!" Marika called from below.

"Why do I even bother?" Shou asked as he shrugged his shoulders, but smiling all the same. While he was slightly annoyed at the fact that they were ignoring him, he was glad Sakura was having fun and was enjoying his handiwork.

* * *

><p>The two new agents began to run the obstacle courses, and were doing quite well for their first time. While not perfect by any stretch of the word, each time they ran the course their time and accuracy increased. The main problem was that Marika would hang too far back for her cover fire to actually be useful and Sakura had a habit of running too far ahead, making her an easy target.<p>

"They really are getting better though," Subaru noted as she watched Sakura fire an anchor onto the ground and the other point onto a target and yanked the chain to pull it out the window where Marika fired upon it.

"Not bad for a first day," Nathan agreed.

"Of course," Kasumi began resting her head on top of her husband's. "They would be doing even better if this guy here isn't changing the difficulty every five seconds."

"Hey, nothing on the battlefield is stagnant after all," Shou defended himself.

As the two of them argued, Subaru heard someone walking up behind them. Nathan seems to have heard it as well as he turned around at the same time she did.

"Second Lieutenant Vita," he said as he and Subaru gave a salute. The tiny red aired knight that looked barely older than ten came up to them followed by Alex. "What brings the Knight of the Iron Hammer here?"

"I just wanted to observe," she replied. "It's been a while, Subaru."

"Yes," Subaru agreed as she lowered her hand. "How did you get here?"

"She asked me to show her," Alex answered. "I got permission from the captain so it should be okay."

"Oh, Sub-Captain Vita, it's been awhile," Kasumi said releasing Shou's cheeks.

"I'm not your direct superior anymore so you don't need to call me that," Vita said "So, which one is that guy's sibling?"

"This one," Shou said, pointing to a monitor containing Sakura just as she split a target in half with a magnificent drop kick.

"Hmm...she's not bad at all," Vita said, her hand on her chin. "A little on the reckless side...I wonder if that's a family trait."

"Would you like to spar with them?" Shou asked as the two of them managed to finish the course a few seconds faster than their previous time.

"Hmm..." Vita let a small groan as she thought about it. Her face said that she would really want to but it seems like she decided against it. "I'll pass for today. I dislike holding back so I'll wait until they get a bit more experience before sparring."

"Yes, because the first spar with us went over so well for him," Kasumi muttered under her breath as she used her hand to cover her smile. Subaru could swear she heard the words "Ball Buster" at which she had to stifle a laugh as well.

* * *

><p>"Did you two enjoy yourself?" Subaru asked Sakura and Marika as they and Kasumi were in the large women's bath together.<p>

"Yep!" Sakura replied as she watched Marika float around in the pool sized bath. "This is a really big bath..."

"Floating...floating..." Marika mumbled with a content smile on her face. "Hmm? Where did Kasumi go?"

The three of them looked around for the woman who had been happily washing her hair at the shower heads. A second later there was a loud splash behind Subaru as Kasumi popped out from under the water and grabbed the younger girl intimately.

"Wah!" Subaru let out a small shriek as she began flailing around in shock.

"Hmm...I've been wondering for a while now," Kasumi said as she squeezed Subaru, who let out another shriek. "You're still growing here aren't you?"

"Huh? Wait! Stop touching! Wah!"

"Hmm...and yet there is no extra flab anywhere else...what a nice body you got here..."

The younger two girls simply watched the other two in interest.

"Kasumi-san and Onee-chan are getting along nicely," Sakura said innocently.

"...I'm still growing..." Marika said softly as she patted her chest, staring at the older girls.

"D-don't just sit there! Help me! Wah! Wait wait wait wait wait!"

"Hmm...this is nice and soft too..."

"Nooooooooooooo!"

"Hahaha, good luck, Onee-chan!"

"I won't lose..."

The shrieks and laughter were not completely stopped by the bath house's walls as Shou, Nathan and Alex sat quietly against the wall separating the two baths, their faces were slightly red for a reason other than the heated bath water.

"This is...paradise..." Shou said as he lowered himself deeper into the water as the other two nodded and did the same.

* * *

><p>"So in the end, you had her join up did you?" a man's voice came from a "sound only" display in front of Aoi's desk.<p>

"Yes," she answered. "I'm sorry for not consulting you in this."

"Hmm...well if it's what she wants then I really don't want to stop her from doing so," Kimura Shichiro said. "From the sound of things, she's really getting the most out of it."

"Indeed," Aoi agreed, glancing at the replays from the earlier training session. "She's able to move as if she never lost her legs in the first place."

"It's all thanks to those two...has there been any sign of that one?"

"No...I assume finding the original plant would take a lot of work. Space is endless after all."

"I'm too small minded to think that big," Shichiro said with a small laugh. "Just being able to get electricity and running water to all the camps and homes is already a large accomplishment for me down here."

"Don't you think it's time we moved the family house here?" Aoi asked.

"That would be the logical thing to do. But there are quite a few memories back here...I'm a bit reluctant to leave them, both the good and the bad."

Aoi didn't say anything as she thought back to the twenty-three years that she spent on Earth. How she was saved by her husband, the birth of her children, the accident and subsequent falling out with her son only for him to come back thanks to outside help and end up missing again..

"It has been a long run hasn't it?"

"It wouldn't hurt to stretch it for a few more decades could it?"

"I'm in no position to return to that old lifestyle."

"I guess I'm just being unreasonable..."

"No, it's my fault."

There was another long silence before Aoi spoke up again.

"Will you still be able to make it next week?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied. "It's her first birthday with both of us in 2 years. I have to go now, seems like there's some trouble at ration distribution."

As the call ended Aoi sighed as she slouched down in her chair. The past two years had done a number on her marriage. She felt that if it weren't for Sakura, they would have separated the moment she went to jail. But she was going to try for Sakura's sake.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Sexy bath time fun? Yeessssssss.

Trouble in paradise? Yes, I also believe so.

This was mostly a fillerish chapter with the only thing notable is the Task Force and new Devices. Will get to the nitty gritty next weel. Unfortunately, being distracted by truly exemplary fics is making it hard. Mostly Zero no Tsukaima ones. I especially recommend The Hill of Swords by Gabriel Blessing, a ZnT and FSN crossover.

Won't be too sad if this chapter doesn't get that many hits compared to the other two, but it seems my canadian readers just reread everything 6 times. I love you guys, really I do =3. Seeing the hits bar so damn high when i have only 4 readers makes me feel so fuzzy inside.


	5. Chapter 5: Rapid Encounters

_Death's an old joke, but each individual encounters it anew. _

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Rapid Encounters<strong>

"Otou-san!"

"There's my little girl!"

Sakura ran up to her father and hugged him tightly after he had exited the shuttle terminal.

"It's been a while, Shichiro," Subaru said as she helped take his bags.

"Did you enjoy the flight?" Aoi asked as the couple hugged.

"It was fairly...normal?" Shichiro said, looking for the right word. "I thought it would be a little bit more science fiction but it wasn't all that different from a plane."

"Look, Otou-san!" Sakura said as she pulled on her father's sleeve and did a little twirl in front of him, showing off her custom made 501st uniform. "I'm working with Okaa-san and Onee-chan now!"

"Is that right?" He asked as he patted her on the head. "Well work hard okay?"

As they stepped out out of the port Shichiro shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked around.

"So this is what it's like on a mage's planet," he said. "Doesn't seem all that different."

"You'd be surprised," Aoi replied with a smile. "The car's just a bit this way."

Sakura watched Subaru load the bags in the car and then turned to her father.

"How long are you going to stay?" she asked, noticing that he only had two duffel bags.

"Only for two weeks," he answered softly as he knelt down so that he was eye level with his daughter.. "The restoration project has only just recently made a breakthrough. As it's foreman, I can't afford to take too long of a vacation, understand?"

"But...it's been two years..."

Was what Sakura wanted to say, but she knew her father was too important for her home country to keep away and that she shouldn't be selfish so all she could do was refrain from clenching her fists with all her might and nod.

Satisfied, Shichiro headed to the front passenger seat of the car as Aoi got behind the wheel. Just before she got in, Subaru could hear the young girl say, "I hate this..." under her breath.

"Did you say something?" Subau asked as she poked her head back out of the car.

"No, not really," Sakura said as she walked passed Subaru and entered the car without another word.

* * *

><p>The car ride back to the base was silent except for Shichiro's snores.<p>

"Sorry," Aoi said to Subaru as she looked at her rear-view mirror. "It seems that he's been working twenty hour days. Coupled with time differences..."

"No, I understand," Subaru said as she raised her hands up. "I'm not bothered by it at all."

As she said this her eyes moved toward Sakura, who had been watching the passing scenery without saying a word.

She slid over to the center seat and wrapped her arm around the little girl as she began talking to her via telepathy.

"Come now, stop making that face," she said softly. "It's the first time you've seen your father in almost three years and it's almost your birthday after all."

"But..." Sakura replied, not looking at her sister figure. "He's only going to be here for a week..."

"That's why you have to enjoy it as much as possible! You can't let the thought of him leaving loom over your head like this."

"But...it feels like...everyone is so far away...like we're not even a family anymore..."

"Come now, you know that's not true."

But Subaru wasn't sure she was really able to convince her.

Even though Aoi was finally out of prison and the two of them were living on the same base, the two rarely saw each other, let alone speak to each other as the creation of a new task force was a big hassle. Between the training of new personnel, the allocation and acquisition of supplies and materials, the daily reports to the sponsoring admirals, Aoi had no free time for anything other than sleep.

The few times they did have some form of conversation was when Sakura passed by Aoi when the latter was in the middle of her rounds. Even then the conversations would only last a few minutes before Nathan would drag Aoi away.

Sakura would even spend all of her breaks sitting in the cafeteria, hoping that she would be lucky and catch her mother while she was getting a meal, but she stopped when she learned that Nathan had the staff send food up to Aoi's office instead.

"If...if Onii-chan were here...things wouldn't be like this..."

It was not a statement blaming her missing brother, but a wish that he was here to help her through this. Subaru didn't say anything but pulled Sakura closer to her so that Sakura was resting her head on her chest.

"Don't worry, he'll definitely come ba-"

A sharp pain in her right amber eye cut her off as she placed her hand over it.

"Onee-chan?" Sakura said out loud looking up at her with worry.

"What happened?" Aoi asked as she stopped the car in front of a red light and turned around.

"No, I'm fine," Subaru said looking back up, still holding her right eye. "It happens sometimes ever since that day."

A side effect from turning a Type-Zero cyborg into a makeshift Titan, a cyborg with even more enhanced physical and mental prowess. The person that had done the operation did her best to restore her back to normal but somethings just can't be undone.

"I never knew this," Sakura said, feeling hurt that Subaru had kept something from her.

"Sorry," Subaru apologized as she removed her hand from her face. "But you had your own worries. And see? It's all bet-"

Her voice cut off as a voice rang inside her head.

_The Neo-Belkan War Memorial. 2400 hours. Be prepared._

And then she saw it again, the familiar white haired man standing within the crowd at the crosswalk. But before she could the car started moving again and when she looked out the back window, the figure was gone.

"Was it just my imagination?" Subaru thought to herself.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked as she tugged on Subaru's sleeve.

"Y-yeah..."

"You are most certainly NOT fine," a gruff voice said.

Subaru turned back towards the front and saw that Shichiro was awake and looking at her.

"Your face is pale and you are sweating profusely. If I were to describe it in layman's terms...I'd say you saw a ghost."

Subaru blinked at the direct and accurate diagnostic and lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Subaru," Aoi began softly. "We're almost to the base. Take this time to think and then we'll head to my office. Tells us everything there."

Subaru nodded in compliance as the car pulled up toward the base.

* * *

><p>In Aoi's office, Subaru told the Kimura family everything. How she saw the white-haired man, how she followed him to the alley where the beast had appeared and attacked her, and how she had just saw him again as he had left her a message.<p>

When she had finished, the Kimura family just looked at her in silence before Aoi spoke up.

"That's it?" she asked. "He didn't give you any more information?"

"No, that's all I heard," Subaru replied shaking her head.

"Are you sure that it's actually him?" Shichiro asked.

"Yes. He looked exactly as I saw him when we were in the sphere."

Shichiro nodded, accepting the answer before he squeezed the area between his eyes.

"If it is him then why doesn't he come home?" Sakura asked.

"Perhaps..." Aoi began as she leaned back on her chair. "There is something he needs to do first? From the sound of your story, it seems like he purposely led you to the place where the black wolf would appear so you could either stop it or slow it down."

"You don't think..." Subaru began as Aoi nodded.

"Perhaps another one might appear in front of the memorial...it's a wide open place and if one were to appear there it would be hard to contain and might be able to escape. Though we don't exactly have much proof that one would appear there so getting a blockade set up would be impossible."

"So we can't do anything?" Sakura asked her mother.

"No, I didn't say that..." Aoi replied, a small smile forming on her face.

* * *

><p>It was close to midnight when Amia Lee had finished work. She had wanted to get off earlier but her superior had dumped his reports that he was too lazy to do on her so she was forced to work overtime, unpaid. She was frustrated and annoyed that she couldn't keep her promise to Marika to go visit the memorial together, but she still wanted to go to the memorial even though it was already so late.<p>

She entered the Memorial Park and saw that there were already others who had set down flowers and other mementos down by the monument. She walked over to it and clasped her hands together.

"I'm sorry Mom, I didn't bring anything," she said as she lowered her head. "I'm sorry that I'm visiting you so late but my boss was being a jerk and I couldn't leave at my normal time...and...I'm sorry that I couldn't help Dad...I'm sorry I didn't notice anything...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

She clutched her eyes as she fell to her knees sobbing uncontrollably.

"Amia?" a soft voice spoke up behind her.

Amia quickly wiped her eyes as she stood up and turned around and saw a man standing under the street light, his face one of concern.

"Nathan?" she said, realizing that her voice was cracking. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a call from Marika saying that you hadn't returned home yet," Nathan said as he walked towards her. "So I called your office and they told me you were going to get out late. So I guessed that you would come here. Are you okay?"

"I'm...fine..." she replied taking a step away from him. She didn't want him to see that she had been crying.

Nathan stopped at a respectable distance away from her and checked his old watch, specifically the date.

"It's almost the three year anniversary," he noted apathetically as Amia flinched slightly. "I understand that you want to come here and pay your respects, but couldn't you do it tomorrow with Marika? You were planning on doing it today anyway weren't you?"

"I...I just..."

"Did you not want her to see you cry?"

"Shut up!" She screamed at him. "Don't talk like you know how I'm feeling! You don't know anything about how I feel! I lost my mother and my father had drove himself insane! How can you ever know how that feels?"

Nathan remained motionless as he watched Amia's tears rolled down her face for a bit before her eyes opened in shock as she realized what she had just said.

"I'm...I'm sorry...I didn't mean it like that..."

"I know," Nathan said as he walked towards her and held out a pack of tissues. "But I did wish that if I did have parents, they would have been like yours or Marika's..."

"Since when were you...so open about your feelings?" Amia asked as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

"If it'll help you calm down, I'll say whatever you want," Nathan said as he offered her another tissue.

Amia's ears perked up as she heard him say that and she felt her heart beat rapidly. There was no better chance for her than right now.

"T-then...can I hear you say..." she began but a loud chime from the clock tower at near the monument drowned out her next few words.

"It's midnight," Nathan said looking at the clock. "Cinderella's magic has worn off. I guess it's time to...what's wrong?"

He looked back at Amia to see the girl looking embarrassed and frustrated at the same time.

"Nothing!" she said with a huff as she walked past him but stopped when Nathan suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward him. "W-what are you doing?"

"Quiet!" he hissed as he slowly moved backwards, pulling her with him.

Amia followed his gaze and saw a large black shadow rise out of the ground and opened into a circle. Then three large wolf-like creatures walked out of the rift.

"W-w-w-what the heck is that?" Amia asked, close to screaming in fear as the beasts looked around, as if breathing in the air of the planet.

"Shh...let's try to get some distance," Nathan whispered as they slowly tried to make their way to the exit. Unfortunately, Amia's foot accidentally knocked over a vase of flowers that had been put as an offering in front of a picture of a small girl.

Immediately the wolves turned their head toward the direction of the sound and rushed over.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!" Amia screamed as Nathan pushed her out of the way as the foremost wolf lunged at him and at the same time activating his device, causing two black gauntlets with blades extending from the knuckle area to appear. "Nathan!"

"Run! Get help!" the man yelled as the wolf attempted to bite him but he managed to force its head a bit to the right and it only managed to snap at the air instead. "Get off you damned monster!"

He managed to fling it off to the side by stabbing it in the neck with his claws, but didn't see a second one get behind him and sink its jaws into his left shoulder

He let out a cry of pain as Amia looked fearfully at the scene before she started running, hoping to meet with a mage before Nathan was killed.

Luckily, Amia didn't have to go anywhere as small purple bolts flew through the air and impacted against the wolf, causing it to leap back in irritation.

"Amia! Nathan!" came the voice of a small girl as she ran past the bushes and continued firing at the wolves.

"Marika?" Amia asked as she helped Nathan to his feet.

A wolf tried to run past Marika's barrage but a small pink chain appeared in front of its feet, causing it to trip and fall to the ground.

"I don't think they're being hurt," Sakura said as she hopped out of the tree she was waiting in. "Maybe they're immune to magic?"

"If that's the case then we just need to do it like this!" Subaru said as appeared from the sky and smashed the fallen wolf's head with her Revolver Knuckle.

The wolf let out a cry of pain before throwing her off and standing back up, it's armored helmet cracking and crumbling slightly as the other two wolves walked up to the lead's side, growling fiercely at the girls.

"This is bad," Alex said as he hurried over to the rest of his team. "We didn't plan for three."

"Wait what? What's going on?" Amia asked as she lugged the injured man away from the battle. "You knew these things were coming?"

"We'll tell you later, Amia," Marika said, waiting for her device to cool down and recharge. "Just get Nathan out of here!"

Amia looked down at the groaning and injured man she was carrying and nodded as she ran the opposite direction from the wolves and the battle mages.

"So...any ideas?" Alex asked as he prepared both of his daggers as both sides simply stared each other down. "If we're unlucky one of them might break off, leaving us to deal with the other two, while it causes trouble."

But the wolves showed no sign of running, and instead lunged at the four mages in front of them.

"Be careful," Subaru said as they separated. "Their claws may be blocked by barriers but their fangs can break through them."

"Darn it!" Alex grumbled as he blocked one of the wolves' claws with his dagger and tried to slash back at it but it jumped out of his reach. "The two of us could barely handle one of them, how the heck are we going to handle three?"

"Can we try to get them away from the monument?" Marika asked. "I don't want it to get damaged during the battle."

"Good idea, let's back off and see if they follow us," Subaru ordered as the mages pulled away from the monument. Luckily they took the bait and chased after them, one went after Alex who had went a direction a little further off from the others.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he slid to a stop and dodged a swipe from the wolf as he countered but thrusting his blade into its neck. It roared in pain like the first one he had fought but it did not stop and continued to try and attack him with its claws, leaving small craters in the walkway.

"Alex-kun!" Sakura shouted as she tried to get to him to assist.

"Wait! Sakura-chan don't just run off!" Subaru tried to stop her but she had already left and was quickly tailed by the lead wolf leaving Subaru and Marika to fight the last one.

"This is not good," Marika muttered and Subaru agreed.

* * *

><p>"Get out of the way!" Sakura shouted as she fired an anchor at the wolf but it merely dodged by jumping toward the side. She fired it at the wolf's foot as it landed and the second anchor managed to embed itself deep into the beast's foot.<p>

"Gotcha!" the mage shouted in triumph. The wolf tried to pull its foot free from the chain but the anchor was not coming out. The beast let out a loud growl as it brought its jaws down onto the magic chain, and with one fierce bite, destroyed it. After it freed itself its body began glowing in a pitch black aura as its eyes shined a deep blood red.

The young mage could only let out two words that accurately reflected her feelings at that moment, "Uh oh."

* * *

><p>"<em>Frost Nova,"<em> the monotone male voice of Alex's device, Algidus Vesica, sounded as he slashed the wolf across its side and a large red ice crystal sprouted from its wound. But the wolf merely shook its body as the ice shattered and the wound closed up instantly.

"So magic really doesn't work on them," Alex said as he held both of his knives in a reverse grip, his fingers brushing against the hand guards. "I should have practiced reinforcement magic a bit more."

"_Frozen Soul," _the device said as its wielder's body glowed in a red aura.

"Oh right," Alex said as he bounced on his feet. "Let's see if I can't live up to that man's expectations as well as my own."

He ran towards the wolf who had charged at him as well, but Alex was much faster than he was moments ago. When they were about to crash he dived toward the ground and slashed at the wolf's leg, slicing clean through its armor, causing the black particle to seep out from its wound. He then spun his body up toward the wolf slashing it up its side before hitting the ground hands first and flipping himself back on his feet.

Turning back toward the beast he saw that it was in visible pain and that its wounds were regenerating, but not at the same speed as when he attacked with magic.

"This is not enough," Alex said bouncing on his feet again. "He was much faster, much stronger, and much more lethal. There is no reason I can't become like him, even if he was a cyborg...our purpose and will are the same!"

"_Verlängform!"_

The red daggers' blades extended to almost double their length and Alex was holding them in a way that their dull edges were resting against his forearms so that they were more like tonfas rather than knives.

He struck at the wolf again with much more strength and precision, dealing even more damage to the wolf's body and even managing to slice off its injure leg.

"I can do this!" Alex roared triumphantly as the wolf struggled to remain standing with only three legs. "You monsters aren't so tough after all!"

* * *

><p>Subaru and Marika were still fighting the second wolf but they were doing much better than they thought they would be doing. While Marika's Pulsfalken did little to no damage to the beast, it was enough for it to turn its attention toward her, out of annoyance or it pain and with that opening, Subaru was able to smash her Revolver Knuckle into it.<p>

"It looks like these things aren't very bright," Marika noted as she sprayed at the beast again and it lunged at her and she easily dodged it by leaping into the air as Subaru came down on top of it, slamming its head into the ground.

"Now!" Subaru said as she moved out of the way for Marika to drop back down on the beast's head and then use her jumping ability again to force its head into the pavement even more.

Thankfully, the beast was more than a little disorientated as it struggled to remove its head from the ground and was unable to keep its body from swaying, more of the black particles were spilling out of the wound in its neck.

"I suppose we should thank Nathan for this advantage," Subaru said as she circled around the beast. "Go help Sakura-chan, I think I can hold this guy here."

But before either of them could do anything, a loud howl rang through the air and the wolf suddenly stopped swaying as it rushed toward the source.

"Wait! Get back here!" Subaru cried as the two mages chased after it.

* * *

><p>Unlike her squad mates, Sakura was not having an easy time with the wolf. The wolf that seemed to have been leading the other two had been able to dodge nearly all of her attacks and counterattacked so swiftly that she had only been able to minimize damage rather than avoid it, and the damage was causing her to slow down and receive even more injuries.<p>

She had a cut on her forehead, and while the wound was not deep, blood was still flowing freely from it and it was getting into her eyes. Her left arm was also injured having used it to block a slash from the wolf's claws when she had missed her kick. Her barrier jacket was also torn in multiple different places as well.

And as if her current troubles weren't bad enough, the other two wolves ran back to their leader's side, one more gracefully than the other, as it still had all its limbs.

"No way..." Sakura muttered as she took a step back. "I was the only one who couldn't fight against them? Am I still just a useless kid?"

Her eyes darted back at towards the wolves as they began doing something strange. The two injured wolves began to disintegrate as the black particles were absorbed by the lead wolf and the wolf's black aura seemed to engulf it even more.

"_It is dangerous,"_ Sound Harken said as the device forced Sakura to move away from the wolf. _"We should regroup."_

Sakura didn't need telling twice. She may have wanted to prove herself, but she was not stupid enough to die trying.

"Good idea," she said. "Who's closer?"

"_It seems Sargent Darlton is the closest."_

No sooner had the device said that Alex was already calling out to her.

"Sakura-chan!"

The red clothed boy ran up to her, stopping for a fraction of a second when he saw her covered in blood, but still ran up to her side.

"Are you okay? Can you still move? Can you see? Shit, your mom is gonna murder me!"

"Alex-kun! Behind you!"

He quickly turned around, holding his blades in a defensive position as a something with a sharp point crashed into them. He forced the thing back and soon the black aura vanished revealing the wolf, in a much different form.

It was now in a humanoid shape, waling upright on two legs. It's armored areas were more prominent in the form of plated leggings and a breastplate. Its jet black mane flowing out the back of its head like hair and its skull-like face had shrunk along with the rest of its head and now had five eyes on it. Two blood red ones over two bright golden ones with another red one at the center of its forehead. It no longer had paws but instead now had a prehensile on its left arm while its right had turned into a long gray lance from the elbow down.

"Wha...what the heck is this thing?" Alex asked as he placed himself firmly between the new creature and Sakura. The creature chose to attack in response, letting out a huge roar as it lunged at him, attempting to skewer him with its lance. He responded by parrying the blow to the left, throwing it off balance and swinging his other arm to try and stab it. However the wolf regained its balance and spun around, its lance smashing into the red dagger's side, similar to what Alex had done to the other wolf before.

The two of them attacked and parried repeatedly, causing sparks to fly through the air whenever their weapons made contact along with the clanging of two metallic objects. Their movements were so fast that Sakura could only see black and red blurs.

"This is...how an experienced combat mage fights?" Sakura asked out loud. Despite being neck first in the incident three years ago, she had never actually seen anyone fight. The closest she's gotten was when she and Subaru were fleeing from a Neo-Belkan automaton and Subaru was too focused on protecting her at that time to really fight back.

Someone else had managed to destroy the machines but she had been pressed against the ground by Subaru so she wasn't able to see anything then either.

Watching Alex fight the creature in front of her now, was awe inspiring.

"Sakura!"

"Sakura-chan!"

The rest of her squad mates came running up to her.

"Here let me get that," Marika said as she pulled out her medical kit.

"Alex-san!" Subaru called out to the dueling mage but he either ignored her or could not hear her over the tension of his duel. "What is that thing?"

"The three wolves turned into that thing," Sakura explained as Marika carefully disinfected the wound over her eye.

"How...?" Subaru began but cut herself off as she shook her head. "Nothing is making sense anymore...and since when could Alex-san fight like that? We can't even help him or else we might throw off his rhythm."

Calling the clashing of the duelist's weapons a rhythm was not an exaggeration. At times the rhythm of steel against steel sounded as if it had been composed by a musician. The two of them would collide, throw each other off and clash again.

By the fifteenth clash, one of the duelists was losing speed. Although neither of them had managed to inflict any wounds on the other, Alex was clutching his chest, gasping for air, the strain of using his reinforcement magic was starting to affect him. The creature decided to take advantage of his moment of weakness and attacked with a thrust of its spear.

"Shit!" Alex cursed, unable to react in time as the spear went straight for his chest. But before it could pierce him, he was suddenly knocked over by three purple spheres that hit him in his leg, causing him to fall over and the spear merely grazed his left arm instead.

At this point, Subaru jumped in and threw a punch at the creature, which blocked it with it lance but slid across the path due to the sheer force of her attack.

"Ouch," Subaru groaned as she shook her hand slightly. "It's like punching solid steel."

"Don't you do that every day?" Marika asked as she hand Sakura helped Alex up.

"I mean without my Revolver and Typhoon Knuckle!"

A roar from the creature brought Subaru's attention back to the fight as she quickly jerked her head to the left to avoid the incoming lance and then ducked as the creature swept the lance over her head. The gears on her knuckles began to spin as she threw a one-two punch at the creature but it skillfully dodged by jumping to the side and then somersaulting away from her.

"How is this thing so agile?" Subaru asked. "It's nothing like the one we fought earlier!"

"I...I think...I can...breathe again..." Alex panted, a little annoyed that he was sounding too much like one of the people he knew. He had aspired to be everything like the man except for his speech pattern caused by failing lungs, he enjoyed breathing and speaking in unbroken sentences.

"Any ideas?" Marika asked as the rest of the squad moved to assist Subaru who was unused to fighting against enemies that fought with precision rather than brute strength, not that it didn't have brute strength as well as the craters it was leaving on the ground indicated.

One mistake and she may just be split in half. She had always relied on her barriers for defense but they simply shattered like glass when struck by the creature's lance. Between the Neo-Belkan weaponry and these monsters, she was starting to feel that they were slowly becoming useless.

"Onee-chan!" Sakura called out as she fired an anchor at the at the creature with her index finger from her uninjured arm. Again, the creature dodged by jumping to the side. She then fired one from her middle finger and the creature batted it away with its lance. Or it would have, had it not been embedded into the lance instead.

"Gotcha!" the young girl cried in triumph, firing the anchor's second point upward into the creature's hand when it tried to remove it, causing it to be stuck in an awkward position of having its arm crossed over its body and unable to really do anything.

Then multiple pink chains started appearing seemingly from out of nowhere. The anchors that Sakura had been firing since her battle with the lead wolf activated keeping the wolf from moving.

Taking this chance, Alex rushed forward with his knives and slashed at the creature's legs causing it to keel over as Marika rushed forward jumping up on top of the creature and when her foot touched its back...

"_Propelsion!"_ her device called out as she activated her jumping spell. The sheer force of the device using the creature's body as a stepping stone caused the wolf to slam into the ground as Marika was sent harmlessly into the air, landing a short distance away. But before she even touched the ground, another mage was barreling down on the creature from above.

"Double..."

A streak of blue magic and hair fell from the sky like a falling star.

"Revolver..."

Subaru pressed her two Knuckles together, sparks flying out from both of their gears.

"Cannon!"

She slammed both of her Knuckles into the creature, forming a large crater with the creature's body at its center, its armor cracked and its body broken as black particles started floating up from nearly every part of the creature's body.

"Did...did that do it?" Marika asked, turning around as soon as she landed.

"That attack is enough to crack through a cruiser's hull," Alex said as he examined the creature. "I doubt this thing's armor is anywhere as thick as that, not with its speed."

Suddenly, to their horror, the creature's hand twitched before it dragged its claws into the dirt and pushed itself slowly to its feet.

"How?" Alex asked as he tried to stab the creature but it avoided him and rushed toward his comrade instead. "Shit! Marika!"

"Wait a min-aahhh!" She let out a cry of pain as the creature grabbed her by the neck, roaring loudly in her face as its armor was falling off its body.

"Marika-chan!" Sakura said, watching in horror as the creature raise its lance, intending on skewering the gunner mage.

"Now!Graf Eisen!"

"_Gigantform! Giganthammer!"_

The creature looked to the right just in time to see a large iron hammer smash into its face, causing to to release Marika and send it flying. The mage squad looked as the red knight landed in front of Marika watching the creature soar through the air,

"Now, Captain!" Vita called out.

"Blue Rose..."

"_Thorns of Death!"_

As the wolf tried to get its feet back on the ground, a large spike erupted from the ground piercing its body through its chest.

"Skewer," Aoi said as she twisted the end of the cloth she was holding. The cloth had dug itself through the ground and took the shape of a lance as it pierced the wolf and at Aoi's command several smaller lances extended from the main body causing the creature to roar out in pain before finally falling limp. Apparently for real this time as it dissipated in a cloud of black particles.

"Well," Aoi said as she removed her cloth-like device from the hole in the ground and returning it to standby mode. "That certainly could have gone better couldn't it?"

"Okaa-san," Sakura said as Vita helped Marika to her feet.

"Is your neck okay?" the small knight asked but Marika could only nod in reply. Either because her neck was too sore to talk or she was still frightened having stared death in the face.

"Don't take this the wrong way but what are you doing here, Lieutenant Vita?" Subaru asked.

"She got a whiff of the operation," Aoi said as she drew closer to the other mages. "I'm not sure if we should call it a success or not..."

She added as she looked around at the destruction caused by the battle.

"I'm sorry...we failed..." Sakura said as she hung her head. But her mother simply placed her hands on her shoulders and lowered herself to her eye level.

"It's not your fault," she said softly. "We had no idea how many would come out and what they were capable off. You're not weak, my daughter. You just happened to be fighting an enigma that was much stronger than the other two that came with it. Thanks to your efforts, and a large amount of luck, its armor was weak enough for Vita-san and I to finish it off. You did very well for your first battle. You too, Marika."

"T-thank you..." Marika croaked sheepishly, lowering her head, still rubbing her neck in pain.

"And as for you two," Aoi said, turning to the older squad members who quickly straightened their backs in fear and attention. "Front and center!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" the two stuttered in unison.

"Care to explain why you left my daughter, a rookie mage, to fight an unknown enemy by herself?" she asked with the tone of an annoyed mother and commander.

Subaru wasn't sure how to say that she was busy fighting the other wolf with Marika without making it sound like an excuse. Alex, however did.

"Sakura-chan is a mage with the TSAB," the young man said, his nervousness all but obvious. "What's more she is part of the 501st Task Force. She should have been able to handle herself."

"I see," Aoi said glaring at the man. "As your commander I can accept that."

She then raised her fist and socked Alex right in the gut as he let out a loud grunt of pain.

"But not as her mother. I hope you will be more careful in the future, understand?"

"Aye...ma'am..." Alex groaned as he stood back up in time to see Aoi "punish" Subaru as well.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Hmmm...first real encounter and Sakura gets a huge blow to her self-esteem. But you gotta understand, they are fighting against something that they have no experience with whatsoever. And unlike some people, she doesn't have a godly amount of magic that she can just nuke them with limited training. Her style is based on precise and powerful attacks, not giant blasts of evil pink friendship making.

Anyway, now we are getting into the nitty gritty of things so I hope you're all excited. If so, tell me! Don't be stingy.


	6. Chapter 6: Into the Void

_Man fears the darkness, for it is something they cannot truly understand  
><em>

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Into the Void<strong>

When they returned to base, Shichiro was waiting for them. Sakura had thought her father would demand that she remove herself from the Task Force but instead all he did was make sure she was okay before returning to his room.

"He's not mad?" Sakura asked her mother.

"Not anymore," Aoi replied placing her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "He was in the command center with Kasumi during the fight. I wanted to interfere earlier but he told me to wait. He may not like your career choice, but he wants to let you know that he's ready to support you."

"Otou-san..."

"That's a nice father you got there," Vita said, folding her arms.

"Are you going to be heading back, lieutenant?" Aoi asked as if suddenly remembering that Vita was not under her command. "Or would you like to spend the night at the base?"

"Since I'm already here, I hope it won't be too much trouble."

"Not at all, Darlton!"

Alex jumped and instinctively shielded his stomach when his commander called his name.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Please show the lieutenant to a room. I'd have my assistant do it but he 's off in the medical bay right now."

"Understood. This way lieutenant."

"Is Nathan okay?" Marika asked as the two red mages turned down a different hallway.

"Vice-Commander Aizawa has already seen to his treatment. It is getting late and he is no doubt recovering right now, so please return to your quarters and you can visit him in the morning."

"Is Amia okay too?"

"Thanks to Nathaniel's efforts, she got away with only a skinned knee," Aoi said remembering the details she received from Shou off the top of her head. "Now to bed with the lot of you. Chop chop."

She clapped her hands together and the three of them saluted her before returning to their quarters while she returned to her office.

* * *

><p>The next morning the squad met up before heading toward the medical bay. There were a few bandages on Sakura's face and Alex was constantly rubbing his arm but the two of them felt fine.<p>

"Do you think he's okay?" Marika asked them, referring to the assistant.

"His shoulder injury didn't look too deep," Alex noted. "At most he'll probably be taken off work for a week or so."

"The paralysis is the worst part," Subaru said remembering her dreadful experience. "But I'm sure Shou-san managed to find a way to counteract it."

As they neared the medical bay they could hear someone shouting at the top of his lungs.

"For the last time! I am fine! You don't need to worry like that!"

It was Nathan's voice but it was not the calm and collected voice that the squad was used to hearing. None of them had ever heard Nathan raise his voice before, not even when he slipped on the wet floor and crashed into the wet floor sign to the enjoyment of half the hanger.

The man had calmly gotten up, replaced the sign and asked a nearby private to place a few more so no one else would slip. Of course, not many people on base would be walking around with their eyes glued to a tiny data pad.

As they got closer they heard Amia's voice as well.

"But you still can't use your shoulder can you? So just let me do this much!"

"I said I'm fine woman!"

"That...is Nathan right?" Subaru asked as they stopped in front of the door as her squad mates nodded. "Does he have a twin?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Marika replied shaking her head.

"We could just go in and see," Alex said as he walked past Subaru and opened the door. There they saw Amia, with a wet cloth in her hand, wrestling with Nathan who was topless and had his left shoulder heavily bandaged and his arm in a sling, while Shou sat at his desk, enjoying the show.

He looked over when he noticed the squad come in.

"Okay, enough with the lovers' quarrel," Shou said as he clapped his hands. "We have guests."

"You're a doctor aren't you?" Nathan asked. "Shouldn't you make her stop bothering me?"

"But where's the fun in that?" Shou asked as he exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders with a large grin on his face. "It's the first time I had a MPD patient after all."

"M...P...D?" Sakura asked.

"Multiple Personality Disorder," Shou clarified. "Our dear Captain's assistant here is a little...for the lack of caring to find a better word, cuckoo."

This remark was rewarded with a pillow to the face by a disgruntled Nathan.

"It's Nathaniel," "Nathan" said turning to the squad. " Nathaniel 'Daniel' Duel."

After the man reintroduced himself he sighed as he placed his hand over his face.

"He's gonna be pissed that this got out."

"If you would just let me wipe you down this wouldn't have happened!" Amia said flinging the wet cloth at the man's face.

"Did you know?" Marika asked Amia as Daniel pulled the towel off his face.

"It's the little secret he's been hiding," Amia said nodding. "'Daniel here pops up whenever Nathan loses his glasses."

Subaru looked at Nathan, or rather Daniel, again and saw that he indeed wasn't wearing his glasses.

"Did they get broken?" Alex asked.

"A great big monster jumped me," the man replied not hiding his annoyance. "What do you think?"

"Abrasive as ever," a voiced said behind the squad as they turned around and quickly stepped to the side as Aoi came in and handed him a small container. "Here, your spare pair."

"Tch, fine," Daniel said as he opened it and placed the new pair of glasses on his face. He then looked dazed for a second before he looked around, his eyes wide opened before sighing.

"So the cat's out of the bag?" Nathan asked in a soft voice directly contrasting his behavior just seconds earlier.

"Um...you're Nathan right?" Marika asked.

"Yes, yes I am..." he replied taking a drink from the class of water on his nightstand.

"Is your shoulder okay?" Subaru asked, trying to get the topic away from his MPD.

"It's a bother," He admitted. "But it's not going to keep me from my work. I only need one arm to do my job after all."

"Good," Aoi said as she pulled a chair from the corner of the room and sat down on it. "I'm going to have to ask the rest of you to leave. I need to talk with these two."

"Yes ma'am," the squad members and Amia said as they left leaving Aoi with her assistant and second in command.

"Have you looked over the data?" Aoi asked to Shou.

"Yes," Shou replied as he turned to his terminal as images from last night's battle appeared around him. "And I must say, these things are positively annoying. They seem to be damn near immune to any type of magic based attacks except for attacks with magic reinforcement and or enhancement. With over 90% of the Bureau's forces using standard armed devices, if these things were to attack en masse, we would be in a lot of trouble."

"But it seemed that Marika's attacks were enough to affect some of them." Nathan said, remembering how she had managed to attract one of the wolves' attention off of him.

"I think its like how humans react to water," Shou theorized. "When Alex tried to freeze that third wolf, it broke free and its wound healed instantly. So I guess that they either feed on magic or can use it to heal themselves. Humans need water to survive but we can be irritated by rain after all. So maybe if they were attacked by large amounts of magic they could be killed too."

"Then the question would be just how much energy is needed to kill them," Aoi said with a sigh. "We can't use artillery magic in the city."

"I know, I know," Shou said waving his hand. "If only we could get our hands on some mass based weaponry like the Neo-Belkans used."

"The Admiralty Board will never go for it," Nathan said quickly. "Even if it would give us an advantage over these creatures, it would be impossible to convince them that there is a serious threat. Not to mention the public backlash of using them so soon after the Neo-Belkan War. People still haven't gotten over it after all..."

Shou understood what he meant perfectly.

"Right, forget I said anything then. Is something wrong, Captain? You've been awfully quiet."

Aoi was sitting on her chair with one leg over the other with her hand under her chin, deep in thought. She looked up when Shou addressed her though.

"Do you still have the information your cousin retrieved from The Stargazer?" she asked.

"Of course. Anything you're looking in particular?"

"I want a history lesson."

The two men both raised an eyebrow as Shou searched for the files dealing with the Neo-Belkan's short but bloody history.

* * *

><p>"Have you had breakfast yet, Amia?" Subaru asked as the group walked down the hall after leaving the medical bay.<p>

"No not yet," Amia said as she held a hand over her stomach. "And I'm starving."

"Then lets go to the cafeteria!" Marika said as she grabbed Amia's hand.

"Yeah, that sounds lovely."

When they arrived to the cafeteria there was a large crowd forming a line in front of the food counter.

"That's weird," Alex noted. "There usually isn't a line during breakfast time."

"What's going on?" Subaru asked the person in front of them.

"You didn't hear?" the man asked. "We got this new Mess Sergeant and his food is amazing!"

"Yeah, this is my third time getting in line this morning," the person next to him said.

"A new Mess Sergeant...?" Subaru repeated, trying to look over the crowd but there were just too many people to see him clearly.

"This might take a while," Sakura said looking pass the line.

Indeed it did. It was about an hour before they got to the front and by then breakfast was no longer being served as the screens now showed the lunch menu.

But Alex, Subaru, and Sakura understood why people were clammoring over the new Mess Sergeant's food.

"Otou-san?" Sakura asked as she peered over the counter to see her father dressed in a chef's uniform. "What are you doing? Okaa-san said you were here to relax!"

"I am relaxing," Shichiro replied. "I haven't been able to use a kitchen in over two years. And besides, only personnel are allowed on base right? So for the week I'm here, I'll be the one cooking your food."

"I don't know if I should be happy or not," Alex said with a wry smile before lowering his voice down so that only they could hear him. "I doubt many people will want to return to the old menu after you leave."

"Well that's life," Shichiro said with a smile. "So what will it be?"

They placed their orders and had to wait another ten minutes before they got their food and found a table to sit at.

"Yuuuummmmyyy!" Marika said as she brought another spoonful of soup to her mouth. "Your father's such an amazing cook, Sakura."

"Thanks," Sakura replied with a smile as she picked up her sandwich.

"Ahhh, I'm in heaven," Amia said blissfully, her spoon still in her mouth as she gazed happily at her curry rice. "Where did your father learn to cook so well?"

"I think its because my mother can't," Sakura said sheepishly.

"Huh, sounds like another couple," Alex said with a small grin.

"Oh? I wonder who you're talking about?" a sly voice came from behind him causing him to jump as they all looked at her.

Kasumi and Ayumi were standing there with trays in their hands.

"Can we sit here?" Kasumi asked, her smile not leaving her face.

"S-sure, there's plenty of room," Alex said gesturing the empty seats between Amia and Subaru. "Take your pick."

"No, I mean here!"

Kasumi grabbed Alex by the collar and pulled him out of his seat. She then pushed Alex's tray over to the other side and planted herself beside Sakura as Ayumi walked around the table and sat next to Subaru.

"It's been awhile," Ayumi said to Sakura and Subaru.

"Yes it has," Subaru replied with a smile. "How have you been?"

"Tired," the other girl replied. "They keep putting me in the simulator. It's hot and cramped even though the bridge is completely different."

"Why do you need to keep on going?" Sakura asked. "Didn't you pass flight school with honors?"

"I hate tests," Ayumi replied. "I prefer practice over theory."

"But they're not going to let you anywhere near the actual controls unless you perfect the simulation, Ayu," Kasumi said enjoying her meal.

"Everyone seems to be having fun," Amia noted as she looked down at her curry rice, feeling just a little bit left out.

"Why not ask for a transfer?" Alex asked having sat down at his new seat.

"Oh no I couldn't," Amia said quickly. "Almost all the personnel here are here because they are at the best at what they do. I don't want to be here because of connections."

"But don't you hate your commanding officer?" Marika asked her. "You complain about him almost every day back home."

"Please don't get me started about that lazy old pervert..."

The group laughs as they continue on with their lunch.

* * *

><p>"Do you really think that was the reason?" Shou asked as he turned off his terminal<p>

"Of course," Aoi said as she leaned back on her chair. "You know the boy's personality. It doesn't matter how much strength his enemy has, if it involves his family the boy would fight tooth and nail for them."

"Then what would keep him from doing so? After all, all off us were dead then."

"I might have an answer to that," Nathan said as pressed a few buttons on his data pad that was lying on his bed. Aoi had trusted him with the knowledge of the true identities of the culprits that sparked the war three years ago and he was eager to help her put together all the pieces. "It seemed that he was close to Captain Takamachi Nanoha's daughter, Takamachi Vivio. Perhaps they were using the child as a shield?"

The thought enraged Aoi but she did not show it on the outside. She had seen images of the girl from Subaru and Nathan and it seemed that she was very close to her daughter. To use such a small child as a shield was unforgivable. That goes for her son as well.

Shou heaved a sigh as he leaned back on his chair and looked up as he began going over the details they had discussed.

"Null Enders faked his death this year and the monsters never showed up on this planet and then comes back two years after with an army using mass based weaponry. I admit that is too much of a coincidence. But that also means he probably failed in beating them doesn't it? Since he replaced all of the TSAB's magic with his technology. It seems that he simply made it so that they had no reason to attack the TSAB territory."

"We lack too much information about these new enemies," Aoi said. "At the very least they seem to find a use for magic. What worries me is that they may appear in greater numbers and start going after linker cores rather than just energy given off of devices."

The men nodded as they shared her worry.

Although the cores only manifested within mages, so much of the population of the planet had devices for even the most mundane tasks that the nearly every one had a small linker core. It would be like releasing a pack of lions into a nursery school.

"The Admiralty Board is going to love this," Shou said sarcastically as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "An unknown army of creatures that are resistant if not outright immune to their precious weapons. It seems that only custom devices and mages of AA if not AAA rank or higher are going to actually do anything against them. Of course, we have to assume that there is more than one type of monster as well."

"There's also the fact that the one from last night turned humanoid," Nathan said. "For it to take six mages to bring it down...I shudder to think if they can get any bigger."

"I'm going to see if I can't find a way to increase the output of magic from the device without increasing the amount inputted," Shou said as he turned on his terminal and began working.

"You're going to come up with a revolutionary theory...just like that?" Nathan asked with a skeptical look.

"Hey, you gotta start somewhere."

"Well let's leave this to the mad scientist," Aoi said as she and Nathan stood up and head out the door toward her office.

"Hey, I'm not mad! I'm eccentric!" Shou called after then as the door closed.

"Will you be giving your report to the Board?" Nathan asked.

"Hmm...I suppose I should," Aoi said as she rubbed the area between her neck and shoulders. "Perhaps I should leave out the part where Subaru was the one who got the information."

"I wish you could have told me about the plan so I could have avoided this injury."

"Honestly, I didn't believe it myself. But it seems that someone really is giving Subaru information on where they are appearing."

"Do you think..."

"Hmm...for the moment it is best to assume that he is not a true ally. For all we know, he could be the one sending the creatures. He might be testing the waters for a full scale invasion or he was experimenting with the humanoid transformation. Speaking of last night, what exactly were you doing there?"

Nathan rubbed his shoulder for a moment before answering.

"I called Marika to ask about Amia," he began as he thought about his next words. "She said that Amia was stuck at work since she had called earlier to cancel their appointment, not that it would have mattered it seems. Anyway, I tried contacting her but she didn't pick up so I waited in the lounge for her to finish. But it seems that she left the base as soon as she was finished so I had just missed her. I then guessed that she wanted to visit the memorial on her own so I headed over there and sure enough, I was right."

Aoi stopped and turned to her assistant for the past three years.

He was extremely knowledgeable of everything and anything there is to know about the TSAB. He had lots of connections, both lawful and under the table, he was a skilled martial artist and shooter and he was respectful and polite. Well, one of him was. She had always wondered why such a man was assigned as her assistant when she was a prisoner rather than behind a respectable admiral instead.

She recalls the time she had asked him about it.

"_Am I required to answer the question?" he had asked her back._

"_No, it is merely a question out of curiosity." she had said._

"_Then I would prefer not to answer ma'am."_

The boy also had no family to speak off having been dropped off at an orphanage that had been burned down during the Neo-Belkan attack as well as all records about his early years. In fact the only records of him are from the academy he had attended.

She wasn't even sure why the boy wanted to be her assistant even after she was released. She had considered asking Admiral Lindy if she could find a way to place him in intelligence where his skills would greatly benefit the TSAB, but changed her mind when she remembered that there was a chance he could find something someone doesn't want anyone to know by accident. So she decided to keep him here, where he would be safe, under her protection.

She wasn't even sure why she was spending much of her time worrying about the boy. Perhaps she was using him as a surrogate son. The talk about Captain Takamachi's adopted daughter had caused her to wonder if she should consult her husband and daughter about adopting the young man. He had always spent a lot of time talking to the others about their families, and had more than once wondered what his parents were like.

"Is something the matter Captain?" Nathan asked. "You've been staring at me for a while now."

"Nothing," Aoi said as she continued walking. "Let's hurry up with this report. I want to get this asinine report out of the way so I can get to more important matters."

Nathan couldn't help but smile at his captain's remark. There was only one thing more important than a report to the Admiralty Board at this moment to her. Sakura's birthday was in six days and she wanted to plan every minute of it.

* * *

><p>The report to the Admiralty Board was pretty much what Nathan and Aoi expected. A waste of time. Almost none of the admirals wanted to believe that there was a creature out there immune to magic even though they had been shown the recording of the events from last night. Only about a handful of them believed Aoi's judgment, including Admirals Lindy and Chrono Harlaown and the Admirals that had once been a part of Aoi's Blue Rose unit including Rear Admiral Thomas Bradley.<p>

"Frankly I'm beginning to wonder whether or not you're up to this task," one of the admirals said bluntly. "You even had to acquire help from a mage outside of your personnel."

Aoi's finger twitched slightly at the accusation but a look from Lindy told her to keep her cool.

"We were up against an enemy that has not shown up in all the history of the TSAB," Aoi said calmly. "This unit is only a month old and I, myself, have only just been getting reacquainted with military life. If the Admiral can share his insight on how he would handle three dangerous unknowns appearing in the middle of the night at a memorial park without alerting the rest of the populace, I would be glad to hear it."

Admiral Lindy hid her face from the camera with her hands that had been folded on her desk as he shoulders shook uncontrollably and Aoi could see Bradley smile in approval as the admiral silenced himself while another spoke up.

"I've been wondering about the devices used by your mages," she said as she looked closely at the ones Sakura and Marika were using. "They seem a bit...well, different."

"The devices were designed and created by Professor Aizawa Shou. He also expresses the concern that basic armed devices may not be enough to handle these creatures."

Again this was met with skeptical grunts and coughs. From what Nathan had found out, many of these admirals had been trying to enlist Shou for their own purposes for the last year and were none to happy that Aoi managed to do so in only one day. Since then, they've been treating the man like a young upstart.

Soon the meeting was over and all the admirals except for three signed off just as Aoi screamed in frustration.

"Now now, Aoi," Lindy said trying to calm her down. "You should scream like that, it's bad for the throat."

"Considering her predicament," Bradley said as he heaved a sigh. "I think she deserves it. Or at least punch something. But really, what is the point of this if they don't even trust your opinions?"

"Humans would rather ignore a threat than face it head on," Chrono said with a sigh. "If possible, I would like your Task Force to focus on dealing with this threat, Captain."

"Yes sir," Aoi replied. "But until we learn where these things are coming from, all we can do is stop them when they arrive before they do too much damage."

"You seem to be able to predict their location pretty well," Bradley said, noting how her mages were on the scene within minutes of the creatures' arrival.

"Yes, actually we had received an anonymous tip earlier that day. Though I am unsure if this informant will be able to...or willing to for that matter, to continue his assistance."

This revelation shocked the three admirals.

"Would this, informant, happen to be the man Corporal Nakajima was tailing a while back?"

"Honestly, I have no clue," Aoi said with a shrug. "But she seems to believe so."

* * *

><p>"Achoo!"<p>

"Hmm? Getting a cold Subaru?"

"Should you get out?"

"Cyborgs get colds? Idiots get colds?

Subaru, Kasumi, Sakura and Ayumi were in the bath house. Amia had left soon after lunch and Marika took a leave to return back to their old apartment for the few days before Sakura's birthday. Kasumi tells the others that it was probably to prepare some extravagant present for Sakura, but actually thinks it was because of Amia's breakdown in front of the monument. Only Marika had been close enough to actually hear what Amia was saying but everyone knew she had been crying. Of course being the one that had been monitoring the entire operation she heard it too.

She had to tell Marika over a private channel to stay hidden but the girl ended up jumping out anyway since the monsters came and attacked at that point.

Kasumi sighed to herself as she continued washing Sakura's back as Subaru tried to splash water over Ayumi for calling her an idiot.

* * *

><p><em>You abandoned him.<em>

No! No I didn't!

_You left him to die, alone._

No! I tried to help him!

_And in doing so, caused him to die instead_.

No...no no no!

_He had a way out. But he had to use it on you instead._

"Stop!"

Subaru's eyes opened as she spoke. She slowly got up off her bed as she looked around her room trying to remember where she was.

"That's right...I'm still on the base..." she muttered as she rubbed her eyes. She took a quick look at the clock and saw that it read two o'clock in the morning. She got up and walked to her desk, where she picked up a small prism and twisted one end of it until she heard a small click. A photograph showing her with her old Section Six members appeared and she looked at the man in the center with tears in her eyes.

Today was exactly three years since he saved her at the cost of his own way out. She then looked down at a small container and picked it up as well. Inside was a small pendant with a turquoise stone attached to it. She had accidentally left it at home when she visited the Kimuras three years ago and it was lucky for her that she did since nearly everything she had brought along was destroyed. This was the one thing she would never let go.

She remembered what he had told her when he had given it to her.

"_My stone to you, is to let you know, I'll never forget you no matter what happens…"_

Since the day she received the stone she had never worn it. She was too scared that it would get lost during her rescue work so she kept it at home in the small container on her desk.

She gently picked up the stone with about the same force one would use to pick up a baby hamster and held it up to her neck as she looked in a mirror. The stone was the same color as her eyes when she first received it. Now, her right eye just contrasts it too much.

She let out a soft sigh as she returned it carefully back into its container as she looked back at her bed. There was no way she was going to be able to get back to sleep.

"Maybe I'll go to the gym," she thought as she got changed and headed out the door.

* * *

><p>She didn't expect anyone to be in the gym at this time, let alone the burly and muscular Shichiro, who was lifting the two hundred pound dumbbells like they were grocery bags.<p>

"Yo," he said when he saw her come in. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No," she replied as she walked over to the treadmill. "What about you?"

"I've been getting by with three hours lately so I'm wide awake at this time," he answered as he replaced the dumbbell and took a sip from his water bottle.

"Aoi-san and Sakura-chan would be worried," Subaru said as she started running.

"Speaking of which, how is she feeling?" Shichiro asked as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I imagine she's not too happy with me."

"I...I don't think it's my place to say it but...she misses you a lot."

"I know...I know...I should be here with my family but...I just can't leave my country in ruins."

Although she couldn't remember who she heard it from, Subaru remembered that Shichiro was a soldier before he met Aoi and retired from the military. From what little she knew about the planet and the country, she could tell that he held his country in the highest regard if it conflicted with his duties as a husband and father.

She then began to wonder if she should give her own father a call too.

As the two of them continued to train their conversations became a little bit more lighthearted, as they began talking about Sakura's birthday party that was happening tomorrow.

"Did you pick out a present for her yet?" Sakura asked as she sat down next to him.

"I don't suppose simply cooking the meals will be enough?" The man asked with a wry smile. "I suppose I'll have to see if Aoi can come and help me choose."

"Knowing Nathan, I think she's already chose a present for her."

"Damn. Do you think I can ask her to put my name on it too?"

"I don't think so," Subaru said trying not to laugh as the man ruffled his hair with both hands in frustration. Of course, she hadn't manage to find a present for Sakura either.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a growl in her stomach, causing her face to turn red as the man in front of her laughed heartily.

"It's almost six," he said looking down at his watch. "I guess I'll go open the mess now."

As he stood up, Subaru looked in awe. In over four hours of his workout routine, the man hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Are you coming?" Shichiro asked, his hand on the door control.

"Ah, yes!" she said as she picked up her belongings and ran out after him.

They were barely two meters from the door when the lights went out in the corridor.

"A black out?" Shichiro asked as he placed his hand on the wall so as not to fall down.

"The base's back up generator should be starting up," Subaru noted, but the lights were not turning back on. "What's going on?"

Then, it happened again. A sharp pain shot through her eye as she fell to her knees, her hands grasping her right eye in pain.

"Subaru-san? What happened?"

It was too dark for him to see anything, and his eyes haven't adjusted to the darkness so he couldn't move without the fear of accidentally tripping over her.

"My...my eye...!" she cried before remembering what had happened the last time her eye suddenly started hurting. As she looked up, the light above their heads turned on as well as another one on the other end of the corridor. And there, he stood, dressed in the same black business suit he had on the last two times she saw him.

"_Tomorrow. 1500 hours. Corner of Justice and Freedom. More than last."_

His message was much longer than before but was still relayed in quick rapid succession. But tomorrow was...

"Wait! It can't happen tomorrow!" Subaru called out to him. "Can't you delay it somehow?"

"_Impossible."_

"But Sakura-chan's...!"

"_Which do you choose? The lives of hundreds, or the happiness of a single girl?"_

"Subaru-san, who are you talking to?" Shichiro asked.

"It's him! He's right over there!"

"There's nobody there..."

Subaru had taken her eyes off him and turned to Shichiro when she shouted and when she turned back, the man was already gone as well as the pain in her eye.

"Subaru-san...was it him again?" Shichiro asked with a soft voice to which Subaru could only nod in reply. The man could only sigh as he helped the girl to her feet. Judging from her outburst, things were only going to get worst for his little girl. "Head up to Aoi and tell her then."

"What are you going to do?" Subaru asked.

"I'm going to the mess to bring up some food...and probably a punching bag as well..."

* * *

><p>"Nathaniel...can you call in someone to clean this up?" Aoi asked as she rubbed her hand. "Oh and get someone to fix the wall too."<p>

"Yes ma'am," Nathan said as he paged the custodian while at the same time pulled a broom out of the nearby closet and started sweeping the sand-like material into a corner near the doorway.

Aoi sighed as she sat back down behind her desk across from Subaru, looking at the omelet that Shichiro had brought up for her.

"This is the worst," she muttered what the three of them were thinking.

"You don't need to cancel all of the plans ma'am," Nathan offered. "If the situation is contained quickly enough, we may still salvage the dinner plans."

"I suppose," Aoi mumbled. "But how are we supposed to discreetly handle something that is going to happen in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded shopping district?"

"If I may?" Shichiro began as the two of them looked at him. "Why not say there is a gas leak or a bomb threat and evacuate the area about an hour before hand?"

"The idea is simple enough but its the procedure that's going to be a pain in the ass," the Captain said as she threw herself back at the chair. "Damn bureaucratic..."

"How about this ma'am?" Nathan decided to cut her curse short. "We tell them about it and ask them how we should handle the situation. If they deny that the attack could happen...we do nothing and let it happen. Their incompetence will show through and support for our forces will rise when we come in and save the civilians."

"But wouldn't the damage spread?" Subaru asked. She did not like the idea of letting a disaster happening without trying to stop it.

"Of course," Nathan said simply pushing his glasses up. "But...on the other hand...who's going to bat an eye at four mages who just happened to be on leave for their youngest squad member's birthday party and they just happened to be eating at a restaurant that just happened to be a few meters from the predicted arrival point?"

There was a long silence before Aoi started laughing.

"You are terrible at stringing coincidences together," Aoi said wiping a tear from her eyes as realization dawned on Subaru's face.

"Yes, I really don't like lying," Nathan said with a humble bow. "I'll apologize to Sakura later for using her birthday as an excuse to lay an operation. Perhaps if the restaurant was my treat? I say that would be a good enough present."

* * *

><p>"Now it's a good enough present!"<p>

Sakura was sitting with her arms crossed along with her squad mates as well as Amia and Nathan, the latter not looking happy.

"But really...a limo?" the man asked, his eye twitching as he tried to figure out how much this would cost him. "Also...bringing me out here I understand, but why bother Amia as well?"

He glanced over at his former school mate who quickly turned away. Causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"What's wrong? You're awfully quiet today. I'm not mad about the whole Daniel thing."

"I-I see..." Amia said quietly as she shifted a bit away from him.

"You're going to crush Marika if you move any further."

As the three of them continued their routine, Sakura sighed as she leaned against Alex's arm.

"He's so clueless," she muttered so only he could hear her.

"I'm under the impression he's deliberately ignoring it," Alex said as he placed his hand on hers. "Some childhood friends are uncomfortable of moving their relationship up after all."

"But Shou-san and Kasumi-san were perfect for each other."

"But they are both pretty weird..."

"_I heard that..."_ a sharp voice came from Alex's ear.

* * *

><p>"I heard that..." Kasumi said through Alex's private channel, keeping a bright smile on her face as there was a series of coughs from the other end.<p>

"Kasumi-san, no private conversations during operations," Aoi chided, but there was a smile on her face.

"Yes ma'am."

Aoi then turned her attention to the screen in front of her, showing a map of the city, specifically around the area that they were warned about.

Like they had predicted, the Admiralty Board denied their request of shutting down and evacuating the district due to "unreliable information." She had asked them to vote on it and even then less than a third of the admirals, the same ones that actually believed her report from last week, actually wanted to give her permission to conduct the operation.

"Oh well," Aoi said as she straightened herself up on her chair. "More fools to discredit."

"Three hours until the predicted arrival time," Kasumi said, displaying a counter on the screen as a small blue dot appeared on the scene. "The squad is arriving on the scene now. We still need a name for them as well as the task force don't we?"

"Hmm...I think I have one..." Aoi said, thinking back to the "history" lesson.

* * *

><p>The hours ticked on by as the squad and their friends ate at the restaurant. Nathan had chose it for its relatively cheap yet very delicious and filling food. They had finished and were chatting idly as they waited for the clock to strike three.<p>

"There's supposed to be more than last time right?" Alex asked Subaru.

"Yes...I can't believe we couldn't get permission to evacuate the area," Subaru said as her hands started shaking.

"People are going to get hurt," Nathan said as he took a sip of his drink. "Probably even killed, so the best you four can do is to try and keep them contained until we get reinforcements. Even then it might be thirty minutes despite all our preparation."

"Is the driver going to be okay?" Sakura asked, suddenly remembering that they had asked the limo driver to wait for them.

"I told him that if we're not out by 2:30 he can leave and come back around 4:00," Nathan answered. "I asked the restaurant to send him something too."

"Always on top of things," Amia said as she gave him a teasing punch.

"I aim to please. Perhaps we should get out of here so as to not get in their way. I'll go pay the check while I'm at it. Give them some money before everyone runs out screaming. Just don't take advantage of it and order more food."

"Why not leave your card here then?" Sakura asked, unable to hide her devilish grin.

"Hmm, let me think about th- no..." Nathan said after pretending to think about it. "Come on, let's go Amia."

"S-sure," the girl replied, trying to ignore Marika and Sakura giving her a thumbs up as they exited the building.

Soon the minutes that were ticking down became seconds. Even past all the other guests, the analog clock on the restaurant wall's second hand seem echo through everyone's head.

"5...4...3..." Subaru thought to herself, her hand clutched around Mach Caliber in her pocket. "2...1..."

As expected, there was a loud crash outside followed by a sequence of ear splitting screams. The four of them ran out to the entrance, Alex lagging behind to leave a tip, and saw what they expected, and something they didn't.

A total of eight of the wolf monsters have appeared along with two humanoid ones.

"Th-this many?" Sakura asked as the wolves started attacking the vehicles that were abandoned around them.

"The wolves might just be grunts so try to focus on the humanoid ones first!" Subaru said as the four of them activated their devices and rushed in.

* * *

><p>"Captain!" Kasumi called out to Aoi who jerked awake. "The targets have arrived and Subaru and the others have engaged them, but they are outnumbered!"<p>

"Ten of them?" Aoi asked as the other members of the Operations Room quickly showed a live feed from one of the traffic cameras as well as a tactical view on the main screen. She balled her hands into a fist before calming down and giving orders. "Begin preparations for the video feed! Contact our supporters and tell them to get to the scene immediately. Kasumi-san, tell Subaru and the others to hold their ground and try to keep the monster's attention on them to keep them from spreading out."

"Yes ma'am!" the operators around her responded in unison as they began to work on their designated tasks.

"Now everything depends on the mages in the field..."

* * *

><p>"Don't just sit there run!" Sakura called out to a woman and her child who had fallen while running from a wolf. She had created a small net by shooting three anchors at the ground in front of the civilians and had the other ends attached to buildings, just barely keeping the wolf from reaching them.<p>

"O-okay!" the woman said as she grabbed her son and ran just as Sakura drove her blade into the wolf's neck causing it to leap back in pain.

"Okay, I can do this," Sakura said to herself as three other wolves came up to reinforce their ally. "That one from that time was just different from the rest. I can handle the grunts at least."

The other four wolves were chasing after Marika, who was bouncing like a pinball off the street, the abandoned cars, the walls, the streetlights, even the wolves themselves, firing wildly at the wolves.

"That's right, get angry!" she called out as she landed on a wolf's back and kicked off it, sending her flying into the air while forcing the wolf into the pavement. "Keep your eyes on the bat because it's not letting you leave!"

"_Schütze!" _her device called out as it unloaded a great barrage into the group of wolves, and to Marika's delight, caused them to roar in pain.

"Looks like Shou was right," She said as she landed softly on a streetlight. "If they are barraged by magic, they won't be able to absorb it fast enough. Of course...they're still a lot of magic around for them to eat..."

She added as the wolves quickly got up and glared at her.

While Marika was bouncing around, Subaru and one of the humanoids were playing chicken. The two of them charged at each other head on trying to strike each other with their weapons. Although they had been upgraded and reinforced, Subaru's barriers were still being shattered like glass against the monster's lance, but they managed to last a second or so, long enough for her to land a hit in.

"Protect Shade!" she called out holding her left palm out to create a barrier to block the lance as she brought her other hand up and punched the creature's face as she could hear someone roaring with laughter on the other side of the communicator.

"Shou! Is now really the time?" she heard Kasumi ask as the creature got back on its feet.

"Well you know..." the man replied. "I didn't think she'd actually do it."

"Wait you mean it's not necessary?" Subaru asked distracted, just barely avoiding the lance.

"Just the hand motion, not the actual phrase."

"Please stop using Subaru to relive your anime days."

"I can't help it! The girl is practically a living incarnation! Come on! Do the improved Revolver Shoot!"

"You two! No private conversations during an operation!" Aoi's annoyed voice rang from the other end and shut the two of them up.

"Subaru-san!" Alex called from behind her as she felt a hand on her shoudler. "Switch!"

She bent backwards as Alex used her body to flip himself over her just as two lances came and collided with each other over her head, just missing Alex's arm. She then did a small somersault as the tip of Mach Caliber smashed into the second humanoid creature's head while Alex kicked the one Subaru had been fighting in the face, causing both to stagger backward.

"Time?" Subaru asked.

"Twenty-five minutes," he replied as the two of them split to fight their new targets.

Meanwhile, on a rooftop overlooking the battle, an extremely bored looking girl was sitting at a desk with multiple terminals and screens surrounding her.

"Preparations complete," Ayumi said to a screen that had the 501st's operation room in it. "Whenever you are ready boss lady."

"Do it."

"Alright, hacking...!" Ayumi said as she brought a finger down on her keyboard only to stop and gently press the "enter" button. "Start."

Immediately, multiple windows began popping up as pools of information began entering her terminals, their owners no doubt extremely confused as to what was happening.

"Hacking...cracking. Jacking...tracking," the girl mused as her eyes darted from monitor to monitor making sure that she wasn't being blocked out of any system within the TSAB or that her precious terminals would be affected by any countermeasures. They had to be distracted after all.

"Find anything interesting?" a voice behind her said.

"Nothing as interesting as psyche profiles," Ayumi said as Nathan and Amia walked up to her. "Oh my. You were certainly quiet the experimenter in the academy, Miss Amia Lee-san."

"W-what?" Amia asked, suddenly looking horrified.

"What in the world would you need...'a fire hose, a three story ladder, a pickaxe, and a cow' for?" Ayumi asked, her expression unreadable but her tone carried a hint of amusement.

"Wait that was you?" Nathan asked, turning to Amia who had took a step away from him.

"Those jerks were saying horrible things about you!" Amia said in her defense. "And I had no idea it would crash through the wall like that!"

"Just what exactly ha-" Ayumi wanted to ask but was caught off by a deafening roar that seemed to shake the entire building.

The three of them looked at the monitor that was displaying the situation below and saw a black portal, one much larger than the ones the wolves appeared from.

* * *

><p>"What the heck is that?" Alex asked as he and Subaru jumped away from their targets and the black portal that was crackling with some dark arcane energy.<p>

The black portal stabilized and a monstrous beast, completely different from the wolf-like ones they've been fighting earlier, came flying out of it. It was far longer than a human was tall. It's entire body was armored like a turtle and it had two large drill-like horns on its head. The non-armored parts were covered in fur and its legs had long spiked appendages on it. It would have been extremely menacing, had it not crashed into the side of a building and disintegrated instantly.

The reason for it soon became clear.

A white robed figure emerged from the black dust waving his hand in front of his face trying to clear his vision. His entire body was covered in that white robe. There was no visible armor plating except for the chest and shoulder area. He had a scabbard hanging from the right side of his body with the sword in left hand. He also had some sort of breather mask that covered his entire face with two red lenses over his eyes. When the black dust disappeared he took note of his surroundings.

He jerked his head around before running out into the street and looking up at the tall, yet damaged, buildings like a person visiting a city for the first time. The man was so distracted that he didn't notice the wolf-like beast lunge at him.

"Look out!" Marika called out to him as she took aim with her device.

But the man simply avoided it by stepping to the left as he spun counter-clockwise, swinging his sword at the same time. The blade made contact with the beast's rear and instantly, severed the beast in two, lengthwise.

The remaining beasts turned their attention away from the TSAB mages and began attacking the man at full force as the squad watched in awe, captivated by the man's amazingly efficient way of killing the monsters.

"One strike, one after the other," Alex said as the man separated a beast's head from its body.

"Is he a friend?" Sakura asked.

"At the very least, he's not with those monsters," Marika said as she landed next to her.

"Should we help him, leader?" Alex asked as the three of them turned to Subaru.

"I think we'll just get in the way," Subaru said honestly as she watched the man force his knee into a wolf's lower jaw, sending it upward, following it with a slice with his sword splitting it lengthwise. "Let's make sure we managed to get all the civilians away just in case those creatures decide to run away. We're lucky no one's been killed so far and I hope to keep it that way."

The four of them nodded as they split, going down a different road on the intersection.

* * *

><p>"What is this?" Aoi asked watching the white clothed man take down the monsters with extremely relative ease. "How is he doing that so easily?"<p>

"We are getting some energy readings from him," one of the operators said. "But it's fairly small so we don't think there is any reinforcement magic going on."

"It could be that sword of his," Shou said, now watching the video with professional interest. "Of course it could just be that he's a man that's used to fighting them and knows where and how to hit them so that they would go down quickly. Notice how he's bisecting most of them?"

"Captain!" Kasumi called out. "Subaru's team says they're going to leave the things to the unknown and try to evacuate any remaining civilians out of the area."

"That's fine," Aoi replied. "Also tell the supporters that they might not be needed after all..."

"Awww, they're going to be so disappointed," Kasumi mused as she began opening a private communications line.

"What are you going to do about that guy?" Shou asked, leaning closer to Aoi so that only she could hear him. "Are you going to try and recruit him?"

"At the very least, I don't want anyone else to get their hands on him," Aoi responded. "He's an even greater enigma than the creatures and I rather not certain groups get a hold of his skills. After all, every single person on this planet is watching this right now."

"Indeed they are."

"Tell the Returners to link up with him after they finish checking for civilians. We don't want him to disappear," Aoi said.

"Returners, ma'am?" one of the front operators asked.

"That's the new name of their squad. I just thought of it."

* * *

><p>Subaru was the first one of her squad to finish her check and make it back to the battle area where there was only one humanoid monster left. The unknown man's blade and the creature's lance were locked as the two of them tried to overcome the other with sheer power. Then she saw the man reach under his cloak and step to the side, causing the creature to stumble as he brought something that looked like a pistol up to its neck. There was a loud crack as a small pointed tip rod extended from its barrel and through the creature's neck, allowing him to sever the thing from its waist.<p>

Having finished with his battle the man removed the lower half of his mask and leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

"Hey, are you okay?" Subaru asked as she ran up to him and tried to help him up.

The man looked up at her and instantly froze up.

"Ah...ahhhh...GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The man suddenly started screaming as he held his head as if in pain as he forced himself away from her. He staggered for a few moments before he suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

"Subaru-san!" Alex called out as the other Returners ran up to her.

"I'm okay," she assured him. "But that guy suddenly started screaming."

"Is...is he alive?" Sakura asked softly, staring at the silent and unmoving body.

"I'll check," Alex offered as he carefully walked up to body and crouched down beside it. He carefully flipped the man over so that he was on his back and proceeded to remove his mask.

"What the!" Alex shouted in surprise as he fell over on his butt causing the others to run up to him and immediately see what caused him to react like that.

"N-no...way..."

"What's going on down there?" Aoi's voice came through to all of them.

"Okaa-san! It's him!"

"What? Who?"

"It's him Captain!" Alex said as he stood up. "It's Kimura Yuuki!"

* * *

><p>Author's note<p>

I don't think I'll be able to keep up these weekly updates anymore. Oh I'll try of course, but I may have some delays in between certain chapters. I thought I'd be able to just sit down and write but I've been distraced by extremely entertaining fanfics. R&R to keep my motivation and attention up.


	7. Chapter 7: Zero Gambit

_If saving people causes them to curse your name, would you?  
><em>

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Zero Gambit<strong>

"So...?" Aoi asked, her hands on her hips, as she stared down at the bespectacled man who was absentmindedly writing something down on a clipboard. It has only been a few hours after the attack on the main street and they were all back at the 501st Task Force's, now codenamed "Shadow", base. Aoi, Shichiro and the Returners were looking at Shou who was looking exhausted.

"I don't know," the man said as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "For some reason, I can't find Senpai's information in the database so I can't do a DNA profile. Of course, if I took some blood from you two, I might be able to find something."

He said this toward Aoi and Shichiro who both nodded as he showed them to a seat.

"Where is he?" Subaru asked softly.

"Currently in the intensive care ward," Shou said simply as he prepared a needle. "I'm afraid its off limits to everyone but medical personnel. Even you guys."

"Why?" Sakura half asked, half shouted at him. "We're his family! We have a right to see him don't we?"

"The man has more broken bones than a freshly excavated skeleton. It looks like someone took a sledgehammer and decided to play whack-a-joint with his entire body. Not to mention the way he was fighting despite being in that condition. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't wake up."

"Can't we at least see him through a camera?" Alex asked, knowing that the man was no doubt under strict surveillance due to his unknown origin.

"Why not," Shou said with a shrug as he set the needles down on the counter and headed back to his desk where he brought up a large screen showing the unconscious man, hooked up to a bunch of machines and devices.

"Why are his hands and legs bounded?" Subaru asked, glaring at Shou who took a step back at her sudden outburst.

"It's because we are not 100% sure that it's actually him," Aoi answered for him. "You saw what he can do. We don't want to risk him blowing his way through the base once he wakes up."

"But...he helped us didn't he?" Marika asked softly, not entirely sure she wanted to get into this argument.

"All he did was attack the creatures. Something he seemed to have been doing before he even came out of that portal. There is no guarantee he won't attack us as well."

"But..." Sakura began but was cut off by Aoi.

"Young lady, I am in charge of all two hundred personnel on this base. If there is even a one percent chance that he could endanger even a single life, it is my duty to keep him under control. Do I make myself clear?"

Sakura was taken back at her mother suddenly raising her voice that she wasn't able to respond, causing Aoi to speak again.

"I said, 'do I make myself clear,' Ensign Kimura?"

"Yes...ma'am..." Sakura said softly, lowering her head.

"Good. Then the four of you are dismissed."

Sakura practically shoved Alex and Marika out of the way as she headed toward the door. The Returners looked at Sakura for a moment, then turned toward Aoi before leaving themselves.

"Isn't that just a bit too harsh?" Shou asked as he rubbed something on Aoi's arm. "It is her birthday after all."

"Then she should be old enough to understand how dangerous the situation is," Shichiro said, speaking up for the first time.

"Well, whatever," Shou replied as he picked up his needles. "So, are you ready?"

"Get on with it," Aoi mumbled, trying to hide her dislike of needles.

Shou smiled as his eyes wandered over to the man sleeping on the screen.

"Man, you sure gave her one hell of a birthday present."

* * *

><p>"I hate this..." Sakura mumbled as the Returners were sitting in the cafeteria trying to relax.<p>

"Sorry," Nahtan said as he walked up to the group to clear the dishes. "But due to today's unexpected turn of events, your father wasn't here to cook. Sorry, if it didn't suit your tastes."

"I don't think she was talking about the food," Marika said softly.

Alex and Subaru nodded, agreeing with Marika. That was the first time they had seen Aoi raise her voice at Sakura.

"Quite frankly, I don't see what the problem is," Nathan said. "It's only natural to keep someone that dangerous like that under control."

At this Subaru stood up and slapped him across the face, knocking his glasses clean off.

"Don't talk about him like he's some wild animal!" she spat at him.

Nathan, or rather, Daniel was just as annoyed as Subaru was.

"Damn it, you don't have to slap me!" he spat back. "Think with your damn head instead of that organ behind your breast! Just think, for two seconds! Why that man could ever possibly be considered dangerous?"

At his words, Sakura's body twitched while Alex determinedly shifted his focus at his hands and Subaru glanced toward the ground.

Null Enders.

That was the name revolving in their heads at the moment. That's right, in their shock of possibly finding Yuuki again after three years, they had completely forgot about the possibility that Null Enders could have survived as well, and that he could very well be the one in the medical room right now.

"Tch...idiots," Daniel muttered under his breath, but loud enough for them all to hear, as he replaced his glasses on his face, his expression becoming much calmer.

"Umm...what are you talking about?" Marika asked, tilting her head to the side. "Is something wrong with Sakura's brother?"

After all, Marika was the only person in the room that had no idea about the man behind the empty steel mask.

"We don't know for sure," Nathan said, skillfully avoiding the true subject. "But he has been known to lose control in the past. That is why he's being restrained for the moment."

"Umm...I'm sorry," Subaru said lowering her head even more.

"Not to worry you're just a bit wound up...hmm...I think I cut my cheek a bit," Nathan said as he moved his tongue over toward his left cheek and winced slightly. "Yep, definitely cut."

"Sorry," Subaru repeated, wishing she could somehow find a hold and just disappear.

"It's fine. Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to see Miss Ayumi about the next phase of the operation. Oh, but one last thing..."

Nathan stopped at the exit and turned back to them.

"It may be a bit late, but the circumstances are still the same after all. Happy Birthday Sakura. There is a cake your father made for you in the fridge in the back."

After he left, there was an awkward silence in the cafeteria until Marika decided to speak up.

"Umm...should I go get the cake?"

"Yes, that's a good idea!" Subaru said, forcing herself to smile. "Come on, I'll help you."

As the two of them went to the kitchen area, Alex got up and planted himself beside Sakura, who immediately rested her body against his.

"Cheer up okay?" he asked her softly. "Your brother's back."

"I only want one of them back..." she said so quietly that Alex could barely hear her. "The other could stay dead for all I care..."

The coldness of her words shocked Alex for a moment. He knew she hated Null Enders more than anything else in the world, for he took her recently recovered family and shattered it again in his blind, blood-thirsty quest for vengeance. Even though the man was technically her brother by blood, she hated him. But he didn't say anything as he wrapped his arm around her small body.

* * *

><p>"How is it going?" Nathan asked as he walked behind Ayumi who was busy at her terminals.<p>

"They're already trying to get the fools to face a military tribunal," Ayumi said.

"Public backlash for denying information given of an attack. If only a few people died, then they definitely would have been tossed out."

"Don't let Subaru hear that or she will do more than slap you," Ayumi warned him emotionlessly.

"You shouldn't spy on people," Nathan said rubbing his cheek.

"And you shouldn't be breaking into the storage," Ayumi said, eying the blade in his hand.

"A samurai should never be without his sword," Nathan mused as he turned toward the door. "Do me a favor and create a loop will you?"

"I wonder who you're referring to," Ayumi asked as she turned her eyes back toward her monitors. "Black or white?"

* * *

><p>"This is an outrage!"<p>

Aoi forced every fiber of her being to keep herself from smiling as the admiral slammed his hand on his desk.

"I demand to know what you are going to do about this?"

"If you are talking about the mass TSAB information break in," Nathan began as he looked down at his data pad. "You are asking the wrong people. Something like this is the responsibility of either those in Intelligence, or the force who had the leak in the first place."

The man looked like he was going to have an aneurysm as he stared the assistant down but Nathan simply returned it in a calm manner.

"I'm amazed that you somehow managed to let the hacker get so far into your files, Admiral Calares," Lindy said in a sharp tone. "Now the public is fully aware of the 501st, the strange black creatures, as well as the fact that the Admiralty Board knew about it but _most_ of us decided that the information was...how did you put it?"

"I believe he said it was, 'Preposterous,' Admiral Lindy," Bradley said, placing his hand on his chin as if trying to remember it.

"What about that man?" A female admiral, Cynthia Wood, asked. "The one that appeared in the middle of the battlefield on that giant unknown?"

"_The video feed was not cut in time_," Nathan warned Aoi with telepathy. "_They know the Returners took him into our custody_."

"He is still currently unconscious and under intensive care," Aoi said truthfully. "It is dangerous to move him right now, but we have him under surveillance and guard."

"Nevertheless," another admiral spoke up. "I would like you to turn him over immdieately."

"I refuse."

Aoi's sharp and quick answered shocked all but three of the admirals.

"You wench!" Calares shouted as he began to slam his hand on the table again. "Are you defying the Board? Are you planning to keep that power all to yourself?"

Aoi raised an eyebrow at the man's accusation. She placed her elbows on her arm rests as she propped her head up with her hand before speaking again.

"First off, the 501st has been granted autonomy by the board so we are not under your command. We may report to you, but we have no obligation to follow your orders. Second, we found no unusual amount of magical energy from the man. He seems to be fairly normal besides his skill. So tell us Admiral Calares...what power are you suggesting he holds?"

"He has to have some form of power if he's able to take down those monster so easily!"

"And here I was thinking you didn't believe that they were a threat," Admiral Wood said, unamused at her fellow officer's tantrums. "You did, after all, vote against us on whether or not to section off the area."

"You should be grateful that a few mages were already there when they attacked," Admiral Chrono Harlaown said. "What were they doing there anyway?"

"They were celebrating a birthday," Aoi said with a shrug.

"In any case," another male admiral spoke up. "Thanks to their efforts, there were no fatalities...allowing most of us to save some face."

"Darn that Subaru," Nathan thought. "If she had just let one or two die then the board would have been so much easier to deal with."

"_Those are nasty thoughts, boy_," Aoi said telepathically as she turned her gaze towards him.

"_Oh, did I transmit that?_" Nathan asked the same way. "_I apologize, but I am not a nasty person, I am a practical one._"

"D_on't worry. From the way this is going, I am inclined to think the same way. Oh and be a dear and increase the security would you? I'm afraid our dear Admiral Calares is about to do something very very stupid._"

"_Preparations have been in place since his first outburst ma'am._"

"_Have I ever told you how much I love your work?_"

"_At least once a month since we met ma'am._"

* * *

><p>After an hour has passed, Aoi and Nathan were once again faced with only three Admirals.<p>

"Your little plan has everyone running around like headless hens," Admiral Bradley said with a hearty laugh. "Of course, that included my people as well."

"Was there a reason the pop ups kept on repeating 'You are an idiot' before laughing like a lunatic and splitting in two whenever you attempted to close it?" Chrono asked.

"Our hacker has a...unique sense of humor," Aoi replied with a smile.

"What about that mystery man?" Lindy asked. "Is it really your..."

"We haven't come to that conclusion yet," Aoi said quickly. "Plus he does not have the so called 'Devil Ärms' on his hands. He isn't spilling magic energy like crazy either."

"They do say that there are three people who look the same on every world," Lindy said thoughtfully. "Maybe it's a doppelganger?"

"Have you figured anything out about his equipment?" Bradley asked.

"Nothing much," Nathan replied. "His garb was mostly some kind of protective cloth that shielded his body from the elements. Where ever he came from, it seems that acid rain was prominent, thus the use of a breather mask and a full body cloak. His sword however...it's a metal with properties similar to iron but we have no record of it in our database."

"An unknown creature, an unknown metal...just where did this man come from?" Bradley asked to no one in particular.

"We'll contact you the moment he wakes up," Aoi said as the other three nodded and the monitors vanished only for another one to appear soon after.

"Hello," Shou said cheerfully. "Are you all finished with your secret talks?"

"Is it finished?" Aoi asked.

"It'll probably be done by the time you get here. So do hurry with you? The suspense."

He said the last two words as he balled his hands up and wrung them in front of the montior.

"Very well...did you contact Subaru and Sakura?"

"I was under the impression you didn't want them to know until you did."

Aoi was silent as she pondered what to do.

"I made sure they understood your reasons last night," Nathan said helpfully. "Although they may be upset that neither you nor your husband showed up for the cake. Right now, I'm betting she's thinking that her precious family is all but broken again."

Aoi glared at him but she knew he wouldn't say that without some basis.

"Call them up..." Aoi said softly.

"I'll give you a five minute head start," Shou said with a small bow as the monitor disappeared and Aoi got up from her seat.

"Nathaniel?" Aoi said softly as her assistant looked up at her,

"Yes, Captain?"

"Do you think I'm a horrible mother?"

There was a short silence before he answered her.

"Considering the circumstances, I believe you are the best mother you could hope to be for your children. You never had parents of your own and never met with your husband's so you had no basis for your parenting. Your son has probably just returned to you and your daughter may be angry, but...I believe that all things can be fixed in time, no matter how long it takes. Provided they were there in the first place."

"Thank you," his captain replied softly. "Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but it was good enough. Let's go."

"Yes, my captain."

* * *

><p>"The results are finished?" Subaru asked as she and her squad mates rushed through the door to Shou's office, where he Kasumi, Ayumi, Shichiro, Aoi and Nathan were already there waiting.<p>

"I thought I said for you to only invite those two," Aoi said.

"Sorry, but they were all there when I called Subaru," Shou said. "Sides, they would find out sooner or later, and they all deserve to know."

"I agree with him," Shichiro said. "An organization can't function properly if there are too many secrets after all."

"Fine," Aoi said. "All of you. Inside. Sit."

Everyone crammed into the room and either sat on the bed or whatever chairs were left.

"Well then everyone," Shou said as he clapped his hands together. "It's time for the moment of truth. Let's see what the computer has to say."

On the monitor over Shou's desk showed Shichiro and Aoi's genetic map, as well as the mystery man's. A number generator was flashing above the three of their faces when all of a sudden, the room when dark.

"What?" Marika asked looking around.

"Shou! Now is not the time for stupid-" Kasumi began.

"It's not me!" Shou said quickly. "Although I was REALLY tempted, it's not me!"

They were interrupted by a beeping on Aoi's device.

"What is it?" she asked as a monitor appeared with one of the base's foot soldiers appearing.

"We're under attack ma'am!" the man said as shots and screaming could be heard in the back. "They came out of nowhere right as the power went out! The hanger needs reinforcements!"

"Eeyyy...not now Calares!" Aoi shouted as she slammed her fist against the wall. "Tell all our forces to avoid combat with the enemy. Do not take any risks that would endanger your lives. I know what they are after, so leave everything to me."

"Y-yes ma'am!"

"You four come with me," Aoi said pointing to the Returners. "We're gonna stop this ridiculous farce. Ayumi-san, I trust you have what I need?"

"Everything has been sent to you a long time ago," Ayumi said, playing with her hair.

"Right. Subaru, go assist the forces in the hanger. Sakura, go make sure he's able to sleep properly. Alex, Marika, you two follow me. Keep off communications unless you need back up. Understood?"

"Roger," the Returners said as they ran off in different directions as per their orders.

* * *

><p>As Sakura ran down the hall to the intensive care ward she tripped over something in the darkness, falling flat on her face.<p>

"Ouch what was th-" she cut herself off as she noticed a body lying there. She bit back a scream as she slowly reached her hand out to the man and was relieved to feel a heart beat, but it was too dark to see whether or not he had any wounds. A quick pat down, however, revealed no open wounds so the man was either knocked out or his injuries were internal. "I'm sorry, I'll call for help as soon as I remove the intruder."

With that Sakura stood back up and continued her trek down the hallway.

Eventually she came across two people dressed in pitch black trying to force open the door to where the unknown man, possibly her brother, was resting, enraging the young girl.

"Leave my brother alone!" she called out as she fired two anchors to the walls next to her and sending the other half to the other side, creating a pink "X" chain.

"_Retract!"_ her device called out as the chains pulled the section of the wall off, causing it to fall on the two intruders. _"Enemies are still active!"_

Sure enough, both intruders punch through the rubble, and two pairs of glowing red eyes stared at her before one of them rushed over to her as the other continued to try and find a way to blast open the door.

Small blades extended from the intruder's arm as it got close to Sakura and slashed at her. Sakura quickly blocked it by raising her leg with her knee bent and extended a barrier and was happy to see that it actually succeeded in stopping the intruder's attack.

She then extended her leg up into the air and brought it down like an ax over the man's arm but he pulled it away before she slammed her bladed device into the ground. She then quickly retracted the blade and used her foot as a pivot to spin and attack a second time with her other leg.

This time, the intruder had to block as he wasn't prepared for her attack, allowing her to strike his arm blade, and a loud clang rang in the air as steel met steel.

The two of them continued to strike at each other, Sakura with her legs, and the intruder with his arms. Neither of them got any distinct advantage over the other, but that meant Sakura was losing. The intruder didn't need to win after all, it just needed to buy time for its partner to open the door so they can take the unknown man away.

"As if I'll let you!" she screamed as pink chains started shooting out from the wall. In the midst of their fight she had shot off all her anchors and waited for a time where her opponent was in the proper place.

The chains crisscrossed around the intruder's body, restraining him, allowing her to rush at the other intruder. But it was pointless. Not because the door had finally been opened, it was because the door had been opened...from the inside.

The audible sound of a sharp blade being drawn from its sheath filled her ears as the man in front of her was cut down in a flash, and she felt something splash on her body. She knew what it was, but she desperately tried to ignore it for she was no face to face with the unknown man, who somehow had his weapons with him.

If there had been some light, the man would see that she was dressed nothing like the assailant who had tried to attack him. But it was pitch dark with the only source of light coming from her chains so the man might attack her in self defense.

And sure enough, the man lunged at her and was right in front of her before she could even make a move to defend herself. She braced herself for the steel blade but instead felt his body slam into her sending her into a wall before hearing a clang as two blades connected with each other.

"He...saved me?" Sakura asked as the man overpowered his opponent and cut him down as easily as the first one. The man then turned to her and she could see him extending a hand out to her in the darkness, which she graciously took.

"Power room?" the man asked breathlessly.

"Power...room?" Sakura repeated. "You want me to show you where it is?"

"Please."

For a second Sakura wondered why the man was speaking like that, and then she remembered what Shou had said earlier. The man had numerous broken bones and was probably in a lot of pain just by standing, let alone form complete sentences.

"Are you sure? I don't think your injuries have fully healed yet."

"No time...enemies here...people dying...help..."

At this the man doubled over slightly as he clutched his side. Yes he was hurt, but it seems like he understood the people at the base helped him and wanted to return the favor. Sakura wasn't sure if she was in any position to make a decision.

But, it was a chance, a chance for her to fight alongside her brother, something she wanted to do so badly three years ago. Even though it might not be him, and even if it was he didn't recognize her. She had changed a lot in the last three years after all, mentally and physically. Either way, she wanted to fight with him, with the brother she loved and admired so much.

"I understand," she replied finally. "This way."

As she retraced her steps and tried to make her way to the power room by memory, the man followed closely behind her, a soft smile forming at his lips.

* * *

><p>The barrage of red eyes flailing around the hanger had forced the Shadow's Mages into a corner. With Subaru's command they had set up a defense around <em>The Spirit of Terra<em> and were holding their ground. Most of the eyes were decoys so it was hard to tell which of them they should be shooting at, but thankfully none of the intruders had any range weaponry and they had to close in if they wanted to attack. So they had to get past the fire from the standard mages and as soon as they got close, they were in Subaru's attack range.

"Revolver Cannon!" she shouted as she made contact with the intruder's face, sending him flying back into the wall on the other side of the base. She then quickly turned to the mage who the intruder had slashed before she got to them. "Are you okay?"

"Just a scratch ma'am," the man replied, clutching the side of his head. It was far more than a scratch as the man just might have had his ear sliced off, but she couldn't exactly tell in the darkness.

The man wasn't the only one injured either. Nearly every single mage in the defensive line had be cut or stabbed and the only ones not firing, were the ones that were in no condition to move. She could only pray that none of them were dead.

"They're starting to push at five o'clock!" one of the other mages called out. Immediately, the barrage began to increase over in that direction, forcing the intruders to break off their attack. But they were growing tired, and many of them were close to bleeding out. It was only a matter of time before they were overpowered.

But then, as if a blessing from some higher power, the lights returned and the intruders were out in the open and easily targeted. Immediately, like a strike from the heavens, every able bodied mage began firing at the intruders. Some of the ones that had been critically injured even attempted to grab a nearby device and join in the action but were pushed back down by their worried comrades. The intruders, now having lost the cover of darkness as well as their element of surprise had no choice but to flee out of the hanger.

Only to be forced back in through the steel plated wall by someone just outside.

"That's...the Unknown?" someone called out as Subaru looked as well.

The man that looked so much missing boyfriend had just plowed through the remaining intruders, with the intent of murder written all over his face as he crawled through one of the body shaped holes he had just created.

Understandable of course, as they were no doubt after him in the first place, but she did not enjoy seeing the look on his face, the face of a man with no hesitation to kill. On the other hand, if he truly did come from the same place as the monsters...he would have been fighting them continuously for the past three years...

And she was the one who left him there.

The intruders flipped back onto their feet as they looked for a way to get past him. Then two of them ran forward in an attempt to keep him busy while their comrades attempted to escape, and they had succeeded. By the time he cut them down, the others were long gone.

He made a move to chase after them but a pink chain got in his way as Sakura came into the hanger as well.

"That's enough," she said softly. "You're hurt and you've done more than enough."

Surprisingly, the man relented as he sat against the wall and dropped his head.

"Is he okay?" Subaru asked as she walked up to Salura as medical personnel spilled into the hanger to take care of the injured.

"I think he fell back asleep," Sakura said carefully lifting his head up. "It's...it's really him right?"

Before Subaru could answer, Shou's face popped up in front of her.

"Hey!" he shouted at her through the monitor. "Get him back to the intensive care ward now! He's already a dead man walking, both literally and figuratively."

"Shou-san!" Sakura said as she turned around. "What happened to the others?"

"They confronted the moron who sent those ninja guys. They arrested him and he'll be sent in front of the military tribunal. But enough about secret plannings, get him back to the ward now!"

The two girls looked at each other before nodding and carried the unconscious man back toward his room.

* * *

><p>"Well as you can plainly see, the man is, as far as DNA tells us, definitely Kimura Yuuki."<p>

They were in the debriefing room now. Everyone who had been in Shou's office before the attack was staring at his results both with relief and worry.

"The question remains though..." Shou said, his eyes slowing resting on Marika before glancing back at Aoi, who nodded. "Which one is he?"

"Which one?" Marika repeated, looking around at the others for an explanation.

"Before Sakura's brother disappeared," Shou continued. "There was another man that looked just like him, a clone of sorts, and he tried to kill him. That's why we have all these precautions. But at the very least, he doesn't seem hostile to us, seeing as he helped us with that little...incident."

"So what's the problem?"

"Simple actually...from what Subaru told me, Senpai's hair was white when he disappeared. This man...has black hair. Though it may seem shallow, that discrepancy can't be overlooked in this case. The risk is too great."

"Upon further investigation however, I discovered that he is using a small amount of magic on his body. Just enough to keep him going despite his half dead state, but small enough to keep it from being detectable by most equipment."

"Anything new about his weapons?" Alex asked.

"Nothing. I have no idea where he got the second sword from, but the little stake gun he has is made from the same metal as his sword, which is as sharp as a feather, so it seems that it has some unknown property that allows it to kill the creatures with ease."

"I see," Aoi said as she stood up. "Let's end this meeting here."

"Huh? Why?" Subaru asked.

"Because the man in question seems to have woken up again. And I'd hate to make him think he's being kept prisoner."

Everyone looked up at the monitor and saw that the unknown was indeed awake. He looked around at his surroundings and tried to get up, only to realize his hands and feet were bound to the bed. He didn't struggle any further as he sighed and rested his head against his pillow.

"Subaru, Nathan, come with me," Aoi said as she headed to the door. "The rest of you wait here. We're going to get some answers."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

I think I made Sakura just a tiny bit dark for a moment there...

Early update since this will be the last one for a while. For now, please leave a review and take a look at the poll on my profile. I can't decide whether or not it would be a good idea to put Vivio and her classmates into the story as secondary characters or keep them as background characters. Both are doable to me and both are easy to do so I'll let you guys decide.

Special thanks to Corti78 Gureifox Gorgas and Blaze Shadow. Reviewing shows me that you guys are awesome enough to follow me through three stories and three years.

Edit: Stupidly forgot to enable the poll...it's up now on my profile...


	8. Chapter 8: Record of Memories

_Can you trust another's record if your memories are incomplete?  
><em>

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Record of Memories<strong>

The man turned his head toward the three of them as they entered the room.

"Can you understand me?" Aoi asked and the man nodded. "You are not a prisoner here. We do not know who you are and have bound you because we do not know if you are going to attack us. If we release the binds, will you answer some questions?"

The man nodded again and Nathan walked over to release the binds, allowing the man to relax a bit before sighing again.

"Do you know who I am?" Aoi asked.

The man looked her over slowly his eyes being drawn to the insignia on her arm.

"The commander?" he asked.

Subaru felt a lump growing in her throat as Aoi frowned slightly.

"Do you know who she is?" Aoi asked, indicating Subaru. "Do you know her name?"

"No," the man replied simply.

Subaru's mouth suddenly felt very dry as she clenched her hands behind her back, but Aoi kept asking the man questions.

"What is your name?"

"Shiro."

"Shiro?" Nathan repeated. "As in the color 'white?'"

"It was a name given by my fellow warriors," the man explained. "I don't recall any other name before then."

"You have...amnesia?" Aoi asked.

"So I have been told."

Subaru was suddenly very glad Sakura wasn't in the room right now, but the others were still watching the questioning in the other room after all.

Aoi sighed as she pulled up a chair and sat down on it as Nathan and Subaru stood by her sides. Aoi pinched her brow before continuing.

"What can you tell me about those creatures. The ones you fought before you woke up here."

"We call them 'Guardeners,'" the man, Shiro, explained. "According to the scholars, they seek something called 'Mana.' It is the energy that exists in all living things, like people. They came from something that floats above my world and rained down like meteors."

"'Your world'..." Aoi repeated. "You realize you are on another planet?"

"My world is all but dead," Shiro answered stiffly. "There is only one settlement left that could support life and my comrades and I were defending it before I got caught on one of them and found myself here. We didn't understand what they were doing. They weren't attacking the settlement directly, they seemed to be just trying to force their way through it. When one of them finally got pass our defenses, it just disappeared. Vanished through some dark vortex. Some of us pushed a theory that they were no longer interested in our world and were seeking a way to travel to another planet. Our people were dying, we realized it. So we decided to make a stand, and slow them down as long as possible so the world they were going to would be able to make proper defense against them. By now they must be almost overrun..."

Shiro balled his fists as he raised them up to his face, shaking in frustration.

"You'd throw your lives down to help people you'll never see?" Subaru asked, in spite of herself. "People that would never know of your sacrifice?"

The man looked at her for a bit before speaking.

"The destruction the Guardeners can cause...it is far greater than any natural disaster. They're like a swarm of locusts, devouring everything from plants to steel to human flesh in search of mana. The destruction turned the world to nothing but sand and ash. There was no way out for us. We were simply living on borrowed time and in a decade our supplies would finally be exhausted. My comrades and I are warriors. We would rather lay down our lives defending some unknown star than die a slow death of starvation."

For some reason, Subaru's thoughts turned to the planet she was on with Yuuki and Null Enders. She had wondered whether or not some great civilization had been there before, and wondered if this was what brought them to ruin.

"Your blade," Nathan asked, pointing to the one still in its sheath. "What is it made off?"

"A metal called irodium," the man said. "There was an underground deposit below our settlement. It was the only source of metal we had so we used it in everything, including our weapons. We discovered that the Guardeners were repulsed by it to a point and that it was able to cut through them with amazing ease."

"I see...do you mind if I...?" Nathan asked pointing to the sword and the man shook his head.

Nathan picked up the sword and pulled it out.

"It's lighter than I thought it would be," he said. "Can you put up a quick barrier, Subaru?"

"Huh?" Subaru turned to him confused. "Why?"

"Humor me."

"Uh...okay?"

She extended her hand out and a blue barrier formed between them. Nathan slowly pushed the tip of the blade toward her, and their eyes widened as the blade effortlessly pierced through it like butter, without shattering the barrier at all.

"Do you mind if we examine this?" Aoi asked, taking the sword from Nathan.

"I'd rather not be apart from that," Shiro said. "It's the only one I have that can truly fight the Guardeners. I do not like being defenseless, but as long as you return it when the sun comes up..."

As he finished speaking the door opened and Shou grabbed the sword before running back out the door with a smile similar to a child who just got a new toy.

"He's...not going to melt it down is he?" Subaru asked worriedly earning an incredulous look from Shiro.

"I'm sure Aizawa-san is well mannered enough not to destroy a guest's belongings," Aoi said, looking not too sure of herself at all. "I have one last question for you, Mister Shiro."

"And that is?"

"Are you Null Enders?"

Shiro blinked twice before answering.

"Who?"

"No, never mind."

Aoi rose from her seat as she beckoned Subaru and Nathan to follow her.

"Please relax in this room until your wounds heal. If you need anything, press the button on the side of your bed and Nathaniel here, will assist."

As the three of them exited, Aoi gave some quick instructions to Nathan before turning to Subaru as the man left.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"I'm just...a little shocked," Subaru replied honestly.

"He's not telling us the whole truth."

Subaru looked at the older woman questioningly before speaking again.

"What do you mean? Where was he lying?"

"When I asked him if he knew us. He answered right away that he didn't. You saw him take a moment when I asked if he was Null Enders. Amnesiacs often try to remember the people who know who they are so they would take a moment to search their memories before giving their answer. I don't know if he's actually lying or it's simply what he believes to be the truth, but we're not getting all our answers from him at the moment."

"So you think...he is Null Enders?"

"Who can say. But if he is, he doesn't remember. It may be hard, but don't hold it against him. The last thing we need is for him to remember just how much he hates the Bureau. We won't have the force to control him, so I ask that you do not aggravate him."

"Yes ma'am," Subaru replied as she gave her a salute.

"Good. Now get some rest. It's been a long day."

"Understood. Goodnight Aoi-san."

* * *

><p>As Subaru headed back to her quarters, she heard someone's voice coming from one of the storage rooms. Leaning closer, she can hear Nathan talking to someone.<p>

"You feeling better now?" he asked.

"Yes..." came Sakura's voice.

"You should head back to your room. I'll let the others know you are okay."

Judging from the silence, it seems that Sakura didn't move from wherever she was. She could hear Nathan sigh, some rustling and then a small thud. He probably decided to sit down beside her.

"All right, spit it out!" Nathan's voice suddenly became a bit sharper. Looks like Daniel is out and about again.

"Huh?"

"If nothing else, we're good listeners, but that guy has a problem with getting other people to start talking. So, I'll just sit here. Feel free to let off some steam. Just not in the face. I have work after all."

Again there was a long period of silence before Sakura spoke.

"I hate this..."

"So you've been saying."

"I had a feeling that he didn't remember me...but he doesn't even remember Okaa-san or Onee-chan either..."

"Huh? They didn't ask about you...oh right, he helped you restore the power."

"At first I thought it was because I grew up so he didn't recognize me anymore...but he really doesn't remember any of us..."

"Yeah, I'll bet that's painful, but think about it from his side."

"His side?"

"You wake up in the middle of nowhere and you have no idea how you got there or even who you are. You have no past and no one around you can help. Can you imagine how that feels? To have no one around you that you can truly trust?"

"You don't trust Amia-san?"

"Huh? Why you asking me that? I thought we're talking about that Shiro guy?" Daniel said quickly and defensively.

"But it sounds like you're speaking from experience..."

"I don't have amnesia. I remember my entire life as well as the next guy!"

"But all that stuff about not being able to trust anyone..."

There was a long silence as Daniel thought about what to say.

"Fine, but if I answer you have to answer one of my questions."

"Deal."

"It seems like whenever she comes up to talk to me she wants something from me. I don't think it's anything bad but I don't like people talking to me with ulterior motives."

Subaru almost lost her balance as she listened in. Despite being such an efficient assistant, it seems he really has no idea...

"Are you serious?" Sakura asked, exasperated at the assistant's words.

"Yes I am, I can see it in people. So now for my question."

"Huh? Oh right, what is it?"

"Why do you call Subaru, 'Onee-chan?' From what I understand, that means Older Sister in Japanese doesn't it? It also seems that younger children call older girls that are close to them that as well."

"Yes...and?"

"You've known Kasumi longer than you've known Subaru and yet you call her by her name. Is there any particular reason you only call Subaru by that?"

Subaru pressed her ear against the door, interested to know as well.

"Eh? Ah...it's really nothing big..."

"Hey, I kept my end of the deal."

"It's...it's just that...Onii-chan and Onee-chan were going out and I thought..."

Sakura's voice dropped to a low mumble and Subaru couldn't hear anything.

"Hmm? Speak up."

"I...I thought they would get married someday!"

_CRASH_

Subaru's grip on the door slipped and she fell face first on the ground in a loud thud. She scrambled to her feet just as the door opened and Daniel's face popped out. He looked over to the right and saw nothing, but when he turned to look at the left, he saw Subaru, trying to flatten her entire body against the wall with her arms stretched up toward the ceiling.

She slowly turned to look at him, her face as red as a cherry as a smirk formed over his mouth.

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing, looks like someone tripped down the hallway," Daniel replied, his grin growing as Subaru slowly made her way around the corner "Well if your feeling better now..."

"Yeah...thank you."

"No problem. Just don't tell anyone."

As Sakura trotted down the hall, Daniel walked around the corner and found Subaru just sitting there.

"Such a sweet girl, don't ya think?" Daniel asked, replacing his glasses. But Subaru didn't say anything as she continued to stare at her knees. "So what are you embarrassed about? The innocence of a thirteen year old girl, or the thought of marriage?"

"Yes," Subaru replied sheepishly.

"Which?"

"Yes."

"Humph," Nathan said as he patted her on the shoulder. "Well in any case, get some rest. I won't tell her you were eavesdropping. But I'm sure she'll tell you in time so you better be prepared, 'Onee-chan.' Don't forget to invite me to the wedding."

Subaru tried to punch his leg but he quickly jumped backwards with a small laugh as he headed to his quarters, leaving Subaru to her thoughts.

* * *

><p>The man who called himself Shiro stared up at the ceiling of his room as he thought about the pseudo-interrogation that just took place.<p>

"Who are they?" he asked to himself. "I don't recognize the green uniform."

He wanted to flip over onto his side, but the IV drip kept him in place.

"Damn it...this bed is too comfortable. I want to sleep on the floor, or at least the chair. If I could just flip myself onto the side, I'd feel a bit more..."

He stopped mumbling to himself as the door to his room opened and a man walked in, carrying a tray.

"I thought you might be hungry," he said as he walked a bit closer and a nice aroma filled Shiro's nose as he swallowed to keep himself from salivating. "Judging from your reaction I guess I was right. Here let me help you up."

The man pressed a button on the side of the bed so that it propped itself up as he set the tray on Shiro's lap.

"Who are you people?" Shiro asked, resisting the urge to start eating.

"Hmm? Oh. Apparently we're the 501st Autonomous Task Force, Shadow."

"Shadow?" Shiro repeated, raising his eyebrows. "What are your objectives?"

"I dunno, I'm just the Mess Sergeant," the man explained as he shrugged his shoulders. "You're going to ask the Captain about that. But for now, it seems we're going to focus our efforts on those things...those Guardeners you are talking about. Eat up before it gets cold, then just set the tray on the floor or the stand next to you and someone will pick it up later."

As the man left, Shiro narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the food in front of him.

"Shadow...these people are Shadow? Shadow exists...but it's completely different...everyone is...is this some sort of trick...?" Shiro thought to himself as his eyes darted around the room as if looking for someone spying on him. He then sighed as he looked down at his food again before picking up a sandwich and taking a bite out of it. "It's good...it's really...good..."

* * *

><p>"ARRRGGH!"<p>

Shou scratched his head furiously as he looked at the fiftieth scan result on the blade. He had been up all night attempting to get a better understanding of the blade but nothing was different than the preliminary scans he did when they first brought Shiro in.

"No matter how many times I try this, it just says its made of iron. iron doesn't just cut through barriers like it a hot knife through butter without some sort of magic enhancement. Is it the way the blade was forged? Is it the hilt? It can't be the person using the blade since Nathan was able to cut through the barrier when the blade was made for that guy."

The blade looked just like a regular broadsword except for its hilt which was made of something like gold and had two red gems embedded into it, with an empty socket that probably once held a third one.

"And these gems...they're not rubies...they don't even show up on the scans."

A loud knock at his door tore him away from his thoughts as he spun around in his chair.

"What is it?"

"It's Nathan," someone called out to him. "It's morning and our guest would like his blade back as the Captain promised."

"Damn it...time's up huh?"

He returned the blade to its holder as Nathan entered the room.

"Here," he said as he tossed the blade over to the assistant. "That thing has more secrets than the entire TSAB."

"Were you able to find anything?" Nathan asked.

"What did I just say?"

"Hahaha, I see..."

"I might have better luck if I melted the thing do-"

"No."

A third voice interrupted them and the two men turned to see Aoi walk in as well.

"Okay, okay. I get it," Shou said throwing his hands up in defeat.

"What's the status of the patient?" Aoi asked.

"Would you believe me if I said fully recovered?" Shou asked, earning a skeptical look from the two of them. "All his bones have mended within the last seven hours and all internal injures seem to have just vanished."

"That's...troublesome..." Aoi muttered.

"Troublesome...ma'am?" Nathan asked.

"The faster he recovers, the more likely he might try something."

"Well," Shou said as he brought the security image up onto the main monitor. "Besides being a little paranoid, he seems content with just lying there, eating whenever food is brought up. Though he might also be a little bored. Think we can get a TV in there or perhaps a bookcase?"

"I suppose making him more comfortable would lower the chances of him breaking out," Nathan added his two cents to their captain who simply sighed before being interrupted by a blue haired girl panting in the doorway.

"Subaru?" Aoi asked, before realizing what was happening.

"Again..." Subaru said. "It's gonna happen again."

* * *

><p>Subaru had awoke from her dreams, one that involved an unfortunate training exercise where someone was sent to the medical bay clutching his lower region in tears, with a familiar pain in her right eye.<p>

She staggered out of bed but the man was nowhere to be seen so she exited her room and looked down the hallway and saw him, ever motionless, staring back at her as he delivered another cryptic warning.

"_Day after tomorrow. 2000 hours. Stronger but less than before. Once again at the park. Do not let him participate."_

The hallway lights then flickered once and the man was gone again. Subaru didn't waste anytime searching for Aoi, having ran up to her office only to see that she wasn't there then ran straight to the Shou's office instead where she recounted the man's words exactly.

"He knows we have Shiro, and yet he doesn't want us to use him in this fight?" Aoi asked to no one in particular as she sat down on the chair Shou drew up for her. "Is there a possibility of a leak, Nathaniel?"

"No ma'am," Nathan replied. "The only people that have access to all information on this base are you, myself, Commander Aizawa, and Miss Ayumi...whether we wish for her to or not. And all of our personnel have been picked from the Navy and Ground forces, both who have seen the skill of your command as well as those that would follow you. These are the lives you indirectly save. Many here...dare I say...would probably die for you."

Subaru knew this was not a gross exaggeration. Many of the soldiers on the base were constantly gossiping of how efficient Aoi's leadership have been. Two contacts with an unknown and deadly enemy and not a single fatality, almost as if she knew they were coming before hand. Then there was her command of the TSAB fleet during the Neo-Belkan War where she managed to organize an attack strong enough to actually break through the encirclement.

"Do you think the Board will be willing to play ball this time?" Shou asked.

"After everything that has happened it is in their best interest to," Nathan replied. "Of course, not everyone is intelligent enough to realize just what exactly IS in their best interests."

"Just as well, I didn't plan on asking him to fight with us anyway," Aoi said. "I have no doubt that he seeks to destroy these 'Guardeners' but we can't have him escaping."

"But it's not like he's a prisoner, right?" Subaru asked.

"He's not. He's a civilian, and we don't have civilians along during operations."

"I guess...that makes sense..."

"But nevertheless, we can't go into a battle knowing that even stronger enemies are going to appear with only four mages. As much as I hate it, we're going to have to ask the Admirals to transfer a few high ranking mages."

"I'll make the preparations," Nathan said as he headed out the door. "Please feel free to spend your time as you wish. Your daughter could use someone to talk to."

With that, he gave a quick bow, and exited, with the sword in his hand to return it to its owner before making arrangements with the Admirals.

"Is he a butler or an assistant?" Shou asked with a grin on his face.

"Well, I do agree that he takes his job just a bit too seriously," Aoi said as she got up as well. "Either way, I'm going to go spend some time with the family. You look like you could use some more sleep, Subaru."

As Aoi left, Subaru took a look at a wall mirror. Her eyes were blood shot with bags under them. She really did look horrible, having only just fallen asleep after spending nearly the entire night thinking about what Sakura had said.

"I could give you something to help you sleep," Shou offered. "It's bad for a soldier to lose sleep after all. You might pass out in the middle of a fight.

"No, it's okay," Subaru declined. "I was just up all night thinking about a few things."

Shou shifted uncomfortably in his chair as Subaru raised an eyebrow.

"Um...Shou-san?"

"Yes?"

"Were you perhaps...thinking of something incredibly rude?"

"...No?"

"...You're mean..."

"I'm sorry..."

* * *

><p>It was around 3pm by the time Subaru entered the cafeteria. The lunch rush was over so there weren't many people there at this time. She saw Aoi, Sakura, and Shichiro sitting at a table in the middle, talking animatedly. Sakura was looking happier than she had all week.<p>

"Good afternoon," came a voice to her side. Subaru turned and saw Alex sitting on the ground next to the doorway with a canned drink in his hand. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough," Subaru replied. "How come you're sitting down here?"

"I didn't want to interrupt the family's time together," Alex explained, gesturing the Kimuras with the can. "And this part of the room has a good view of them."

Subaru nodded as she went over to the counter and came back a few minutes later with a plate of pasta in her hands as she sat down next to Alex.

"What have they been talking about?" Subaru asked as she started

"Well, it seems that Shichiro-san manage to work out a way where he can do his supervisory work from here so he doesn't have to leave any time soon," Alex said taking a sip of his drink.

"I see, good for Sakura-chan. Hey, that's not alcohol is it?"

"Of course not. I'm underage. Though all the recent happenings have made me consider it...that or seek a therapist. I'm about 50-50 right now."

"You've really loosened up over the past three years, you know that?" Subaru asked as she twirled some of the pasta around her fork.

"It may have to do with the fact that my family isn't pushing me as hard and I'm no longer stressed out by Enforcer work," Alex said with a shrug. "They seemed to be satisfied now that I'm working under Aoi-san."

"Maybe you should be the squad leader...you've managed to hold your own against those humanoid Guardeners way better than anyone else on the squad."

"No, Aoi-san picked you for a reason so you should trust her judgment if you can't trust your own abilities. Just remember that the rest of us believe in you as well."

"I see...sorry...I'll try harder to live up to everyone's expectations!" Subaru said feeling pumped up. "Speaking of which, where's Marika?"

"I think she went to call Amia."

"Do you think we can ask Aoi-san to let her join?"

"I think Marika's been trying to do that since Day 1, but the CIC is already filled up. Maybe when we get _The Spirit of Terra_ in the air there will be an opening on the bridge."

"I hope so, those girls are practically sisters. Even their initials would make it seem like they were family."

"You don't have to worry about that."

The two of them looked over at the doorway and saw Nathan standing there.

"What do you mean?" Subaru asked.

"I just finished sending the transfer requests," he answered as he sat down beside them. "With any luck, Amia, and the rest of the transfers will be joining us sometime this week."

"Who else did you request?" Alex asked.

"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, so you'll just have to wait and see."

"Aren't you working a little too hard?" Subaru asked. "You should relax a little bit."

"I am relaxing aren't I?" he said, putting his hands behind his head before leaning against the wall and stretching his legs out. "Besides, I enjoy my work and my duties are no where near as taxing as the Commander's. He has to balance base duties, his medical ones, and his engineering ones after all."

"Yeah, but he has subordinates that he dumps his duties off to doesn't he?" Alex countered.

"I guess that's true," Nathan said as his data pad began to flash. He looked at it and nodded his head. "Speak of the devil. Let's see here...ah...that's a good idea."

"What is?" Subaru asked, her mouth full of pasta.

"It seems the Commander wanted to do a few upgrades to Marika's and Sakura's devices. The way they are now, they won't be too effective against the Guardeners, especially Marika's, since she relies on magic based shots. So that means my break is over. Gonna have to bring the girls to his office. At least I know where they are."

As Nathan got up to go talk to Sakura, Subaru went to put away her dishes and left the cafeteria with Alex.

"I've been meaning to ask," Alex began as the two of them walked down the hallway. "What do you make of that Shiro person?"

"What do you mean?" Subaru asked.

"Do you think he's actually Yuu-san?"

"I...I'm not sure. Do you?"

"No, I don't," Alex replied bluntly. "I just think he's a man who just happened to look a lot like him. It wouldn't be the first time after all. King Ixpellia and Sakura look a lot alike as well. So there's a possibility that he could be a completely unrelated person as well. One that just happened to be suffering from amnesia."

"That's a lot of coincidences..."

"With hindsight, one can see that life is filled with them."

"Haha...you sure you don't want to be the squad leader?" Subaru asked again with a smile.

"No thanks," he replied with a smile as well. "I'm going this way. I'll see you later ma'am."

He then turned down a corner leaving her to her own devices. Subaru wasn't quite sure how to spend the rest of the day as she didn't have any paperwork to do. She thought about training for a bit, but there really wasn't anything she felt she needed to work on.

By now she had walked quite a distance so she decided to stop and take a look around at her surroundings. She was standing in the medical wing, specifically, down the hall from Shiro's room, or at least the room he was relocated to after his injuries had properly healed.

"We weren't given orders not to see him," Subaru muttered quietly to herself. "Even if he doesn't remember...it might be good to at least try talking to him."

She turned down the hallway and walked toward Shiro's room.

Despite Aoi's fears of him possibly being Null Enders, there was only one guard at the door and he let Subaru in with no question. Though the fact that he was one of the mages in the hanger when they were attacked may have been the main reason he let her through.

When she entered the room, her eyes immediately went toward Shiro, who was staring absentmindedly out the window.

"Excuse me," Subaru said, catching the man's attention as he turned to face her.

"Yes?" he asked. "Oh, you were in here last night weren't you? Did you need something else?"

"No," Subaru said quickly, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry. "I just...wanted to talk."

"So another questioning?"

"No, nothing like that. I just...wanted to know if everything was okay."

The man raised an eyebrow at this as he shifted on the bed.

"If you don't mind me saying Miss..." Shiro began, but cut himself off when he realized he didn't know her name.

"It's Subaru..." she replied slowly, her throat feeling even drier. "Subaru Nakajima."

"Then if you don't mind me saying, Miss Subaru, it looks like you're the one that has something bothering them."

She grimaced at his sharp intuition and chose to sit down at a chair next to the bed.

"It's about the Guardeners," she said. It wasn't the main reason she was bothered, but it was still a reason. "We don't have any practical weaponry like your sword and it's only a matter of time before they manage to kill someone."

Shiro's eyebrows shot up behind his bangs at the news.

"You managed to keep them from killing anyone?" he asked, sounding both surprised and impressed. "That's an impressive feat."

"Not really...we've only fought them three times. The first time, there was only one and it was stuck in a dead end. The second time there were only three and there were six of us. And the time where you came in was the third and you took care of all of them."

"But it's not like I came at the beginning right?" Shiro asked. "If I am understanding it right, you managed to contain them with only four people."

"Even then, you were the one to defeat them. Are there any combat tips you can share?"

Shiro closed his eyes in thought for a moment before speaking.

"Which types have you fought so far?"

"The wolf one and its humanoid form."

"So the Wolfshund," he said with a nod. "They're the basic Guardener, often showing up in mass. They prefer pack based tactics and prefer to surround their targets and defeat them with numbers rather than strength. They usually gravitate towards a single member, a pack leader, for orders. These leaders often change into the humanoid forms. We call these ones König Wolfshund, or King Wolfhounds. There's no telling when they'll change but it seems to be based on the amount of mana they manage to consume. Some can even change in the middle of a battlefield."

"Yes, I saw that myself," Subaru said, nodding her head. There wasn't much new info, but nevertheless she listened intently.

"For the basic Wolfshund, their tactics usually involve one rushing straight at the target while the others flank and strike from the side or rear. The one in front will normally attack with its claws rather than its fangs since it is merely a distraction. The best way to handle them is to fight in a group or to make sure you can see where they are. They're weak points are located back behind their hind legs and the inside of their bodies. Some of my comrades often killed them by thrusting their blade at the same time as one lunged at them and their blades pierced through their flesh and out their skull with little difficulty. Of course, it was simply for them, men and women who were already prepared to die."

"As for the König, those are a bit tougher," Shiro admitted. "They're faster and their lance offers them a good amount of power and range. But because their entire arm is the weapon it means they are slightly off balance and it can easily be exploited. Breaking off a deadlock can sometimes cause them to stumble and the left side of their body can act as a sort of blind spot from their lance."

"This information would certainly come in handy when the attack comes," Subaru thought. Then she remembered the thing that forced Shiro to the planet in the first place. The thing that was twice as large as the Wolfshund.

"What about that larger Guardener?" she asked out loud.

"Hmm? Oh, the Tragen?" Shiro asked as Subaru nodded. "Those things are even more dangerous than the Wolfshund. They're like a living fortress, both in terms of defense and offense. They can dig underground with the drill-like appendages on their heads and their long and powerful spiked arms. It doesn't help that their favorite method of attack is to skewer their targets when launching themselves out of the dirt. One hit and you're lucky to die instantly. It's not a pretty sight or feeling...having someone's body utterly shattered..."

He moved his hand and rubbed his side uncomfortably.

"So that's the reason Shou-san referred to him as a dead man walking..." Subaru thought before asking out loud, "Is there a weakness?"

"Of course," Shiro replied. "For all that power, it traded in its speed. Even our youngest solders could run circles around it. That's why they rely on sneak attacks and the Wolfshund to distract the targets. Needless to say, those things are a priority. Of course, my initiative left me separated from my men along with a broken body."

"But how were you still able to move like that?"

"Rage is a hell of an anesthetic and I didn't like being hit by a mountain," Shiro said dismissively, indicating that he had no desire to continue answering the question.

Subaru wasn't sure there was anything left to ask so she stood up from her seat.

"Thank you," she said with a short bow. "Your information will help us greatly."

"Wait a minute," he called out to her just before she opened the door to leave.

"Yes?"

Subaru turned back around and saw Shiro leaning forward with his hand outstretched. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before he let his hand drop and rested his back against the bed again.

"...Actually...never mind. It's nothing..."

The dark haired man returned his gaze to the scenery outside the window, not turning back to look at her. Subaru simply nodded her head and exited the room, leaving the man to his thoughts.

"Damn it...what the hell am I doing?" he asked himself, bring a hand to his eyes.

Just outside the room, similar emotions were running high as well.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" the guard ask, unsure whether or not it was okay for him to place a comforting hand on Subaru's shoulder.

"No...no it's okay..." she replied, brushing a hand over her eyes. "I have to go make my report...please keep up your good work..."

"Y-yes ma'am..." the guard said as he backed away from her. He then poked his head into the room where the man was just lying there, his arm covering his eyes and both hands clenched into fists so tightly that he was drawing a little bit of blood.

* * *

><p>"Soooo...what do we make of that?" Shou asked as he swirled around in his chair to look at the people behind him.<p>

Aoi, Nathan, Sakura, and Marika were there, the latter two having been asked to come, the second having delivered them, and the first had followed them because she wanted to know the plans for her soldier's upgrades. None of them had been expecting Shou to be listening in on the conversation between Subaru and Shiro.

"Depends on what you are asking about," Nathan said, pulling his glasses off for a second to wipe the dust off of them. "The information about the Guardeners...or the little outburst our amnesiac friend had just before Subaru left."

"Does...does that mean he remembers her?" Sakura asked, looking at Nathan hopefully.

"He probably remembers...something...you saw the look in his eyes when she was about to leave. He's probably trying to sort things out. Perhaps seeing her leave triggered something?"

"I feel bad about this," Marika said, her hands on her lap. "We shouldn't have spied on them."

"We were going to find out the information about the monsters anyway," Shou said, shrugging his shoulders. "The last bit was just an unexpected accident. So, what do you think, Captain?"

Aoi had been silent the entire time as she listened to the two on the camera talk and after it was over she had simply closed her eyes and lost herself in her thoughts.

"I'm returning to my office," the captain said as she stood up.

"Okaa-san?"

"Subaru's going to be delivering a report soon and with the new information, I'll be able to augment my strategies. Nathaniel, make sure the reinforcements arrive on Day 0 no matter what."

"Yes ma'am. I'll find a way to expedite the procedures."

"Legally, I hope," Shou chimed in as he spun his chair back around to his desk.

The assistant merely gave them a cryptic smile as he left the room with the captain.

"Well, now that that matter is finished..." Shou said as he brought up a screen showing schematics of a gun and one of a glove and skates. "Let's talk magic. Here's what I have planned for the two of you, and if I hurry and work through the night, I'll get this up just before they arrive."

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Does he remember? Is he lying? What's he going to do? The hell I know...

Anyway, more information about the monsters have been revealed and none of it pleasant, but nevertheless it's useful information. Decided to just go ahead and put Vivio, Einhart, Corona, and Rio into the story a bit further down the line. Time to reread ViVid for some research. Please Review!


	9. Chapter 9: Envoy of Blood

_Basking in an armor crafted from his own blood, a man stands tall_

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Envoy of Blood<strong>

Day 0 arrived much faster than anyone would have liked but Nathan made good on his promise to get the reinforcements as the Returners, along with Aoi, Shou and Nathan were in the hanger, watching a shuttle land down beside the massive warship, _The Spirit of Terra_, that was only days from being combat ready.

"And you're sure you didn't do anything illegal?" Shou asked the assistant.

"Loopholes, Commander," Nathan replied. "Loopholes. And shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Details, details..." the other bespectacled man said as they watched the ramp deploy from the shuttle as a large group came out, along with four very familiar faces.

"Tea!" Subaru shouted, momentarily forgetting herself, as she ran up and hugged her friend, almost knocking her off her feet.

"Whoa wait a minute, Subaru!" Tea said, just barely keeping her balance thanks to Ed, who had placed his hands on her shoulders to help support her.

"This is a surprise," Alex greeted his old comrades as the rest of group walked up to them. "I certainly didn't expect to see you guys."

"Yo," Ed said simply, biting his tongue to keep himself from calling Alex "Mister Lolipedo," out of fear of two people present, one loli and one mother of a loli.

"As cheery as ever," Vita said, crossing her arms as she watched Tea try to push Subaru off of her before turning to Aoi. "2nd Lt. Vita reporting for duty."

"It is nice to see you again," Aoi said returning the salute.

"Amia!" Marika called out as she ran up and hugged her surrogate big sister around the waist.

"Hello, Marika," she said kindly as she ruffled the younger girl's hair.

"These reunions are fine and all," the assistant said as he interrupted everyone with a clap. "But we have business to prepare for and only twelve hours to do so."

"Right," Aoi said as she turned to her second-in-command before indicating the two enforces and the red-headed knight. "Shou-san, can you get these three up to speed? I'm going to have to get these others into their roles."

"Yes ma'am," the Commander said as he ushered the mages and knight to follow him to his office. "Alright...I'll show you guys the quick version...and believe me...you're probably going to get a migraine or two..."

* * *

><p>Back at Shou's office, the mages were crammed inside again as the three newcomers gaped at the live video feed coming from the private medical room, showcasing an explicitly bored looking man who was absentmindedly reading a book while laying on the bed.<p>

"Is this some kind of joke?" Vita asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Shou.

"If it was, I'd be laughing," the Commander said, completely deadpan. "And I am not laughing. This man calls himself, 'Shiro,' and is the reason why the last encounter with the monsters, which he calls 'Guardeners,' went over so well."

"'Shiro?'" Edward repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell...no matter how you look at it, that guy is totally-"

"Edward!" Alex hissed, elbowing his friend in the ribs, throwing a side glance at Subaru, who was determinedly looking at the ground.

"Subaru..." Tea whispered, looking at her friend in worry.

"Regardless of who he is," Shou said bringing the mages' attention back to him. "He's given us some valuable information on how to fight against those monsters, those Guardeners."

"Huh? Gardener? Like someone who tends a field of flowers?" Ed asked.

"That's just what he called them," Shou said waving his hand. "He's also been fighting them every day for the last three years until we picked him up. Course, he doesn't seem to recognize anyone or anything."

Vita's eye twitched at the information before glancing over at Subaru and Sakura.

"In any case, about the battle plan," Shou said as the screen over his head changed to show a tactical map. "We'll have the majority of our forces encircle the park five hundred meters out from the center as the seven of you attempt to deal with them. Teana-san and Marika-chan will be placed here, and here." He indicated a building to the west of the park and then one to the east. "While Edward and Sakura-chan will be placed here." He tapped at the main entrance to the park. "The rest of you will be deployed at the monument as that's where they came out the first time. If you can, try to lead them away from it, but do not prioritize it over the mission."

"Have the civilians been evacuated?" Tea asked.

"They're being so as we speak. They may be morons but they're not about to make the same mistake twice. The encirclement will begin in five hours while the operation will begin in nine. Get some rest, because you all are going to need it. As for me, I'm going to prepare my equipment."

* * *

><p>"Subaru! Wait a minute! Subaru!"<p>

Subaru had left the stuffy room the moment they were dismissed and was trying to put as much distance between her and it as possible, ignoring the person calling after her. She turned around after feeling Tea's hand on her shoulder.

"Yes?" Subaru asked, almost emotionlessly in complete contrast at how she had greeted her friend and former partner earlier. The orange haired girl was about to ask if she was okay but held her tongue when she realized her friend was far from being okay, having not seen her like this since that day three years ago.

"Umm...can you show me to the cafeteria? I haven't eaten anything today."

Subaru didn't say anything as she blinked and stared at her friend.

"Sure," she replied, a smile returning to her face. "I think they have a new dessert in as well."

A flash of relief spread across Tea's face and as the two women walked off, just around the corner behind them, a certain bespectacled man leaning against the wall to keep himself from walking into their conversation pushed his glasses further up his face before walking off in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p>"Only five minutes left," Amia's voice rang out to all the mages in the area.<p>

"Hey Amia," Ed asked as he leaned on the gate. "Can you stop counting down? It's really really not good for the nerves."

"What kind of Enforcer are you?" Tea asked sharply. "You can't be nervous now! We fought worse things than this."

"Yeah but those guys just dampened or nullified magic, not outright ate it."

"You and your choice of words..." Alex muttered as Ed's eyes opened wide.

"Crap."

"Keep quiet," Vita shouted irritably as she too was itching with anticipation as she and the melee centered mages were pacing around the monument. Unlike last time, there were no offerings around monument so the scenery around them was fairly bare.

"One minute guys," Kasumi said as the mages began to tense up. "5...4...3...2...1..."

_Zero._

Alex and Subaru immediately jumped backwards as something large came out of the ground beneath them. It was as wide as Vita was tall, some form of armor encased it like a turtle's shell, blades stuck out like spikes on its forelegs, drill like horns on its face, and its blood red eyes that felt like it was staring through one's soul. The creature let out a deafening roar as a black portal raised from the ground. Four wolves as well as one humanoid standing on top of another creature similar to the first came out of it.

"What...the fuck...is that?" Ed asked blankly as he stared at the menacing figures.

"All forces!" Aoi's authoritative voice snapped him out of his entranced state. "The enemy has arrived within the predicted location! Everyone is to remain in formation and do everything in their power to keep the targets from escaping the encirclement. Destroy them with everything you have!"

"Roger!" came the reply of all the mages as they jumped into action.

Navy, Blue, orange, pink, purple, red, and crimson lights shined all around the park as the mages donned their armor and devices as the Wolfshund attacked first, with the Tragen burrowing underground again while the König just stood there, its arms folded across its chest.

"Tea!" Ed called out as a large magic circle appeared below his feet. "It looks like they think Subaru and the other two are the only ones in their way. Get that thing to move a bit to the right!"

"Okay!" Tea said as she took aim from the rooftop. Several shots rang through the air as orange lights flew toward the König. It only noticed when one shot impacted against its head and quickly jumped to the side to avoid the others.

"Eruption!"

A huge ball of blue fire fell on top of the König as it roared in pain before leaping out of it, unharmed, but it was on its knees.

"I can't imagine it's pleasant to be burned and healed all at the same time," Ed smirked.

"Since when were you a sadist?" Alex asked as he kicked one of the Wolfshund away from him as Vita's Graf Eisen crushed it under its might.

"Since I didn't want to be a masochist!"

"I think Ayu did something to him," Kasumi said, barely holding in her giggling.

"A lot of things..." came a deadpan voice. "Lots of fun things...want some more?"

"No private conversations during operations!" Aoi ordered over Ed's high pitched scream asking why Ayumi was on the comm. "And where are those Tragen?"

"They are haven't moved since they buried," Kasumi said, looking up from her console. "Wherever they came from, they probably didn't have any means of tracking them before they came up so they probably think that they can trap the mages if they just hold still."

"Edward. Flush them out."

"Yes ma'am."

Two pillars of blue fire rained down into the holes as the two Tragen burst out from the ground further away from their openings in a geyser of fire, unhurt but extremely irritated.

"Front line mages have already neutralized three Wolfshund," Amia reported. "Alex and Lt. Vita are already working on the last one. Support fire from Miss Teana, Mister Edward, and Marika are keeping the Tragen in their place. Sakura and Subaru are attacking the König."

"Amazing what a little bit of information can do to a battlefield isn't it?" Aoi asked rhetorically as the König and final Wolfshund disappeared off the tactical map. "Of course, three more A class mages don't hurt either."

"Captain?" Amia called out as she turned to look at her.

"What is it?"

"It's a transmission from Admiral Wood."

Back on the battlefield, the mages were closing in on the Tragen. Without the leadership of the König, the distraction of the Wolfshund, or even the ability to go underground, they were nothing more than giant targets.

The only thing keeping them alive was that it was too dangerous for the mages to get near them after one took a swing at Sakura, missing when Alex grabbed her by the collar and pulled her out of the way, causing it to hit a tree, causing the whole thing to splinter like a twig. Also their ranged magic attacks were too weak to really damage them.

"Any ideas?" Ed asked. "I can't keep nuking them forever after all."

"Out of the way!" Vita called from above, swinging her giant hammer down on the first Tragen. The beast held out under the hammer's gargantuan form for all but five seconds before being crushed like an ant.

"Well...that works..." Ed said, staring dumbfounded at the crater.

"Once more!" Vita called, swinging her hammer down on the last Tragen. There was a loud crash as the hammer created another crater in the park.

"Is it over?" Sakura asked.

"No! It went underground at the last second!" Kasumi called out. "Get off the ground!"

The mages followed her advice, with Tea hitching a ride with Subaru on her Wing Road, cursing her lack of flight magic. Just as they did, the ground erupted, sending concrete, brick, and dirt flying into the air. There was a sound of twisting flesh as the Tragen began to change its form.

As it began to support itself on its hind legs, its front legs began to thicken, forming into what looks like giant arms. Its head had shrunk and its drill like horns were now protruding from its shoulders, its fangs and tusks baring open as it let out a monstrous roar.

"W-what the hell?" Ed asked as the the thing took a sluggish step forward. "What the hell did that thing just do?"

Then after the second step, it vanished, only to appear a second later in front of him.

"Shit!" Edward cursed as he threw up a shield just as the new Tragen swung its fist at him, shattering the shield and sending him falling to the earth.

"Edward!" Alex called out. "Are you alive?"

"I...I'm hurt...I'm really...really...not okay..." came a breathless response as the others breathed a sigh of relief. At the very least, the man was not dead.

The Guardener landed back down on the ground with a crash as it looked back up at the mages, as if picking out its next target.

"It jumped?" Marika asked as she stood on a nearby roof. "It can jump like I can?"

"And it looks like it can throw a punch like Subaru as well," Tea noted. "But how did it get so fast? It was moving like a rock before."

"Hold still and let me crush you!" Vita called out as she swung her giant hammer down a third time. Surprisingly, the Tragen didn't move. It merely pulled its fist back and punched the hammer head on. A loud crash as the fist met cold iron. A moment passed as nothing happened before a loud crack could be heard as Vita quickly pulled Graf Eisen away, revealing a large indent in the device.

"How?" she gasped as the hammer returned to its normal size. "Graf Eisen was beaten? In a show of strength it was beaten?"

The Guardener, on the other hand, simply shook its hand as if trying to get water off of it as it let out a low growl as steam came out of its mouth.

* * *

><p>"Mister Edward has been incapacitated and Lt. Vita's device has been damaged!" Amia reported as Aoi's eye twitched at the image of the new Tragen on the screen.<p>

"Should we try it then?" Admiral Cynthia Wood asked from the monitor next to her seat.

"Give me a moment please," Aoi said as the Admiral nodded her head. "Shou-san!"

"Yes?" the Commander asked as his face appeared next to her on a monitor.

"How long can that be activated before it gets too dangerous?" Aoi asked as the man's expression changed from confused to worry in an instant.

"Even one second is too dangerous!" he said quickly. "I'm not as good as that person! I won't be able to put her back together!"

"How long before it is lethal then?"

Shou stared into his captain's eyes, silently asking whether or not she was serious.

"Thirty minutes," he said calmly, sharply contrasting with his usual self. "Ten minutes is the maximum safe zone. Of course this all just speculation. As I said...even just using it for one second could possibly..."

"I understand..." Aoi said turning back to the main screen. "Subaru!"

"Y-yes?" the field captain replied.

"Restraints for Gear Omega has been lifted. I'm sorry to ask you this, but please hold that monster back while we extract Edward and prepare something that might work on the Tragen."

"Okaa-san!" Sakura's voice rang in. "You can't ask Onee-chan to do that! She might-"

"I understand," came Subaru's reply ignoring Sakura's plea for her to reconsider. "How much time do you need?"

"Ten minutes is all you can handle so that will have to do. After that, I want you as far away from that monster as you possibly can get. I don't want you in the crossfire. Understood?"

"Yes, Captain."

"I hope this plan of yours works, Admiral, or I'm going to lose my future daughter-in-law."

"Based on the battle recording, there is a high chance this will work," Admiral Wood said confidently. "Nevertheless, we will expedite our preparations."

As the communication between the Admiral and herself ended, Aoi folded her hands together, almost in prayer, as she whispered, "Please be careful."

* * *

><p>"Everyone get that?" Subaru asked her fellow forward mages.<p>

"What is it?" Marika asked. "What's dangerous about it?"

"What are you planning Subaru?" Vita asked, her eyes narrowing.

The two of them weren't with them three years ago after all. They had no idea about the little memento that Subaru kept after the war.

"Leave Subaru to do her own thing," Tea said. "Let's get Ed and fall back."

Vita and Marika wanted to say something else but the two of them nodded instead as they headed down toward Ed, who hadn't move an inch from where he landed, as Subaru turned toward the Guardener and barreled at him.

"Gear...Omega!"

A soft blue light surrounded her for a second before dissipating, revealing her in a dark black and blue armor that covered her from head to toe, with the only opening around her face, showing two golden eyes. When she got close enough, she jumped off the Wing Road and gave a spinning kick to the Guardener, who blocked it with its arm but the force caused it to slide across the ground.

"What the hell is that?" Vita asked as Alex and Tea carefully lifted Ed out of the crater. "What kind of Armor is that?"

"A parting gift, from a friend," Alex replied, his eyes stopping on Sakura for a moment, who was staring at Subaru, worried for her friend's health.

The Guardener roared as it took swings at Subaru, each one long and wide, allowing Subaru to avoid them easily. Compared to how it took down Ed and smashed Vita's device, it was attacking Subaru in pure rage, as if it realized what she was. And that it was something it hated.

Subaru slid back as her shoulder cannon flipped itself over and fired a large blue bolt at it's chest, knocking the wind out of it as well as pushing it back.

"Mass based weaponry really does do better against them," Subaru muttered to herself as she dashed forward, both knuckles spinning to the point of a fiery red. Her right arm met the Guardener's right. A quick clash and she came out on top, a loud snapping sound indicating that its arm was useless. Unlike the others, Subaru's attacks were not magic enhanced. She was now using her Combat Cyborg abilities at 200% thanks the augments from the Titan armor.

"Subaru!" Shou's concerned voice was ringing in her ears. "You only got five minutes left before your body starts to feel like it's been dipped in acid. By that time you'd better be as far away from that thing as you can get. Unless you're curious of what our guest felt like after coming out of that black portal. Or you could just ask Enforcer Kaufman..."

"...heard...that..." came Ed's pained reply. Apparently having half his body shattered wasn't enough for the poor man to lose consciousness, or his wit.

"Someone give him some morphine to shut him up!" Kasumi said irritably.

"The training works!" Ayumi said as cheerfully as she could ever get.

"Subaru!" Aoi called over the other two. "Prepare for disengagement! It's almost ready!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Subaru replied as she fired more shots at the Tragen as she retreated.

"...you're not going to insist to fight longer?" the Captain asked, sounding surprised.

"I really want to," Subaru admitted. "But the long term effects aren't worth the risk. Especially when these things are going to keep appearing."

"Hmmm...that's quite a level headed decision."

"I trust your judgment, Aoi-san. Whether I am overconfident or unsure of myself, I believe that you believe in me. So I trust your judgment, on a professional and a personal level."

"That is more than I can ever ask," Aoi replied, her voice almost motherly. "Cynthia?"

"Preparations on this end are complete!" Cynthia replied. "I suggest you move Corporal!"

Overhead, the shadow of a large ship came into view, having come in from space.

"Wait a minute!" Alex shouted. "You're not going to fire your guns at this thing are you?"

"Of course not!" The Admiral shouted, appalled that he would even say such a thing, not that she didn't see why he would think so. "We're going to drop an experimental containment field. So do move your feet Corporal!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Subaru replied, shocked to hear a voice more demanding than Aoi's. She had barely turned around before she realized something was wrong. Mach Caliber's treads suddenly stopped responding causing her to trip and fall to the ground, hard, as her entire body suddenly froze up as well. But she didn't feel any pain. She didn't feel anything at all.

Her body simply laid there unmoving. She couldn't see, hear, speak or even move. But her mind hadn't shut down, she was perfectly aware of what had just happened.

"What's going on?" Vita called out as she, Tea, and Sakura ran toward Subaru's body at the same time the recovering Tragen lunged itself at her.

"Stay away from my Onee-chan!" Sakura called.

"_Chain Anchor!"_ Sound Harken called out as Sakura fired an anchor that attached to Subaru's back armor, extending a chain from the anchor to her glove. She then pulled as hard as she could, pulling the girl's limp body away from the Guardener's fist as it crashed into the ground. Tea quickly caught Subaru's soaring body, her legs buckling at the extra weight of the girl's armor just as four large pillars fell from the ship overhead, landing in a square formation around the Guardener.

It tried to get out but several reinforced glass panels extended from the pillars and locked him in before a surge of electricity surged through the cage causing the Guardener to roar in pain before dropping to the ground, even as the electricity continued to surge through its body.

"Okaa-san?" Sakura asked. "What is..."

"There's no time for that!" Shou's voice cut her off. "Bring Subaru back here now! I'm monitoring her vitals from here and her vitals are dropping fast! Move mages!"

"My forces will secure the beast," the Admiral's voice call. "Tend to your own men."

The Shadow Mages nodded as a shuttle dropped down from the ship to carry the two injured mages back to their base.

* * *

><p>"Things are certainly getting loud," Shiro noted as he set his finished book on the table next to him before getting up off the bed. He headed to the door and examined it before pressing the button that allowed him to talk to his guards outside. "Hey, what's going on out there? Is it another attack?"<p>

"No," the guard replied. "I think some of the field troops got injured."

"Injured? How bad is it? What about that girl that was in here earlier, is she okay?"

"I don't know. Things sounded crazy over the comm."

The guard jumped when he heard something slam against the door.

"Look, I owe you one for saving us back then, but I can't let you out..."

"I know...just...tell me if you hear anything...please..."

"I will."

* * *

><p>"Hurry and get her to the operating room!" Shou shouted at the orderlies through he base's intercom as he sterilized his hands. "Time is short!"<p>

"What about the Enforcer?" one of the nurses asked.

"Take him to the second one! Have Esther look him over. The man has time to crack jokes, he can't be that injured! The Corporal on the other hand is minutes away from death!"

"I-I apologize!"

"If you have time to say your sorry then move it!"

Shou was furious. He should have never lifted the restraints. He should have never told her about the function at all. His old friend must be turning in his grave at his betrayal.

With his hands clasped on the sink he stared at the mirror in front of him, his teeth clenched so tightly that they were drawing blood. If he were stronger, he'd probably would have torn the sink out of the wall in frustration.

"If she dies...I'll never forgive myself..." he thought to himself as the doors behind him swung open, with Subaru still lying motionlessly on the stretcher.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry but this is as far as you're allowed to go," one of the orderlies said as he closed the doors in front of the Returners.<p>

"She's going to be okay, right?" Tea asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," Alex replied in full confidence. "Subaru-san is amazingly stubborn and Shou-san is an extremely skilled doctor. She'll be able to pull through. Quite frankly I'm more worried about..."

A loud scream cut Alex off as he heaved a sigh.

"What was that?" Marika asked, looking down the hallway where the scream came from.

"That..." Vita began, holding a finger up like a lecturer. "Was the sound of a man screaming as his joints are being snapped back into place."

"He's definitely going to be out for a while..." Tea said, wincing as a loud cracking noise echoed down the hall followed by another scream. "Don't they have pain killers for him?"

"Either they are not working properly, or he's exaggerating it," Alex said.

"Sakura?" Marika asked, looking at her friend. "Are you okay? You've been quiet ever since we got back to the base."

"Are you angry at your mother?" Alex asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No," Sakura replied honestly. "If she didn't have Onee-chan do that...someone else might be with Edward-san right now...or worse..."

The group fell silent at her words, even the screaming and the joint snapping seems to have stopped as they all looked at her.

"I just want Onee-chan to be okay."

* * *

><p>A loud crash came in Aoi's office as she flipped her desk, that had been bolted to the ground, over in a fit of rage.<p>

"What a failure," she hissed through her teeth as she kicked her chair against the wall.

"You should really calm down Captain," a calm voice called form the doorway as the lights in the room flickered to life as Nathan walked into the room. "Before you break something really important. I apologize for my absence."

"What happened?" Aoi asked, as Nathan flipped her desk back over.

"Admiral Calares was found dead in his cell," the assistant said simply.

"What?"

"Security cameras caught everything on tape but...well, quite frankly they didn't need to, only a blind and deaf man would have missed him."

Placing a small disc into the damaged, but still working projector he lowered a screen as a video began to play.

Aoi watched in interest and horror as a single man, clothed in pure black, storm right through the security forces, incapacitating all of them by either stabbing them or breaking a few bones.

"The Aizawa couple met with someone similar in their last excavation didn't they?" Aoi asked. "Do you think this is the same one?"

"Yes," Nathan said with a nod. "If only to avoid thinking that there is more than one person capable of doing such a thing."

"Hmm...but why kill a man that was going to be set for trial that would have found him guilty anyway? The evidence is mountainous."

"Perhaps he didn't believe in the courts? A man like Calares is very powerful after all."

As Aoi nodded, their was a knock at the door.

"Aoi, it's me," came Shichiro's voice.

Nathan quickly walked over and opened the door, letting the man in. He was carrying a tray ladled with food and placed it in front of his wife on her desk.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Dinner," Shichiro replied with a tone that said "obviously," as he looked down at his wife. "Subaru-san is not going to get better if you starve yourself. You haven't eaten anything all day."

The woman looked up at him before sighing as she picked up her fork. Nathan smiled as he discreetly left the room, leaving the couple alone.

* * *

><p>"Where...is this?"<p>

Subaru looked around and saw nothing but an eerie fog surrounding her.

"Umm...let's see here..." Subaru mumbled as she propped her right elbow on her left hand and touched her head with her right hand in thought. "I was using Gear Omega and then I suddenly couldn't move...oh no...did I die?"

"Almost...not there yet..."

Subaru quickly turned around and saw the back of a familiar blue haired girl.

"Blau..."

"You shouldn't be that surprised," the Mirage said. "After all...our bodies and souls are linked, in more ways than one."

"So...I'm in my head again?" Subaru asked looking around.

"It's empty isn't it? What else could it be."

"T-that's not nice! And it's your head too isn't it?"

"Yes, but I know I'm not that smart compared to the others."

Although her other self kept her back toward her, Subaru could tell she was smiling. Subaru just sighed as she sat down behind her so that they were back to back.

"So what do you mean by 'almost?'" Subaru asked.

"Your body failed and is dying," Blau replied. "That professor is trying to revive you right now, and is making some progress."

"I see..." Subaru said as she looked down. "Have you been here all this time?"

"Yes...although it isn't all that bad," Blau said with a hint of happiness. "I can see the world through your eyes when you are awake. It's...a peaceful one...until recently of course."

"I'm not gonna end up with a split personality like Nathan am I?"

"Ours are similar in the first place. If you did, no one would notice. But I doubt it. I'm quite satisfied just watching..."

"Really?"

"Yes. I've always wondered what a less militant life be like. Seeing you and your friends makes me happy for you."

"You deserve some of this happiness too..."

"Just keeping to your promise is enough."

"Promise...but I couldn't save..."

"One of them is already here, even if he doesn't remember. I'm sure the other will come home too, you needn't worry about that."

"But...you should be there waiting for him."

"It wouldn't have mattered in the long run," Blau said simply.

"Huh?" Subaru was confused at her words. "What do you mean by that?"

"There are more differences between them then you think. After all...mine is a hopeless one-sided love after all. He'd loved her more."

Subaru wheeled around to look at the girl but was unable to as she felt her consciousness being pulled elsewhere.

"It was nice talking to you again. Though, I hope it will be the last time." Blau said as she stood up before the scene in front of her went dark.

* * *

><p>"Clear!"<p>

Subaru felt a large jolt rush through her body as her eyes snapped open. Over her she could see the face of one Aizawa Shou, his expression turning from one of fear and horror to one of utter relief as he sank to the ground.

"Sir!" one of the nurses called out as she helped him back up.

"See! I told you twentieth time is the charm!" the man said, throwing a triumphant look at his subordinates who all wore similar signs of relief.

He then clasped his hand around hers as she turned to look at him.

"Welcome back from the land of the dead."

"Dead?" Subaru repeated, her eyes slowly opening wider.

"You were clinically dead for a few minutes," Shou said softly. "I thought I was going to have to kill myself for a second there...anyway, I'll let the others know you are alive and well."

* * *

><p>News of Subaru's recovery spread throughout the base like wildfire, as well as the fact that Shou had managed to revive her, including the base's guest, who merely sighed in relief.<p>

Subaru was to be confined to her bed for the next few days to make sure everything was fine, while Shou locked himself in his room with Subaru's device, trying to find a way to make the offending power safer to use.

In Subaru's medical quarter, her squad mates as well as the contracted mages were around her.

"Don't ever do that again okay?" Sakura half begged, half ordered Subaru with tears in her eyes. "I don't want to lose you too..."

"I'm sorry," Subaru said, patting the girl on her head. "But no one thought that it would have that bad of an effect." At least not that early, but Subaru kept that bit to herself.

"What happened to the Guardener?" Subaru asked, looking at the others.

"Right now, Admiral Cynthia Wood's forces have it contained," Tea explained. "I think they're attempting to study it."

"Personally, I think we should just be rid of it," Vita said, folding her arms over her chest. "That thing is too dangerous."

"They're keeping it contained by constantly barraging it with some kind of lightning based magic," Alex explained. "Guess someone realized Edward actually had a good idea."

"Hey!" the Enforcer shouted as he got up, wincing a bit as he planted his left leg on the ground. "I didn't get into the Enforcers on my good looks you know!"

"How long are you going to be out?" Tea asked curiously to Ed.

"Bout three days. Looks like it wasn't as bad as it felt, and I felt like I was hit by a train."

"Better luck than me then," Subaru mumbled. Aoi and Shou had not given her an exact date, but she felt it would be a long time before she would be back on the field. She was technically dead just a few hours ago after all. The whole situation felt surreal to her at best. In fact, if not for the little mental meeting, she would probably have thought that she had simply passed out during the battle and that Shou had been playing a joke on her.

"Well it looks like you're fine now," Vita said, getting up from her seat. "Let's go people. Give her some rest."

* * *

><p>"Maaaaa...riiiiii...kaaaa!"<p>

Amia jumped out from a corner and hugged her surrogate little sister around her neck playfully as the younger girl giggled as she tried to pull away from her.

"How's Subaru?" the older girl asked in a hushed voice as she wrapped her arms around Marika's neck from behind.

"She seems okay," Marika replied. "I think Edward got hurt more."

"He's wearing a cast and sling now isn't he? I heard that Miss Ayumi is having fun at his cost right now."

A loud scream coming from the medical wards confirmed her suspicions.

"I didn't think that quiet girl could be such a sadist," Amia mumbled to herself.

"Sadist?" Marika asked, looking up. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Speaking of which," Marika said as Amia finally released her. "How's it going with Nathan?"

"Eh?" Amia only blinked in response to the girl's question. "Wait what? No! It's not like that!"

As Amia raised her hands up in denial, she accidentally bumped into someone as she backed away. Looking behind her, she saw Nathan standing there looking confused.

"You should be more careful," he said as Amia jumped away from him with a small shriek. "This is the medical ward after all. You might bump into a patient."

"W-where did you come from? I thought you were with the Captain?"

"She's spending time with her husband right now," the assistant answered with a shrug deciding not to add "since last night" to his sentence.

"Then let's go grab some lunch!" Amia said, reaching out and grabbed his arm.

"But I'm not really that hungry..."

"That doesn't matter! Come on Marika, you too!"

"I don't really want to get in the way," Marika replied but Amia grabbed her hand as well.

"Think of it as a small celebration for Subaru being okay!"

"You and your 'my-pace' attitude," Nathan muttered, but there was still a small smile on his face, something that didn't go unnoticed by Amia.

"Is it bad?"

"No...it suits you."

The man then raised an eyebrow as he wondered why Amia's hand was starting to sweat.

* * *

><p>"Hey! I know you can hear me up there!"<p>

Shou blinked as he looked down at his console. Shiro was standing up and glaring at the hidden camera in the room. Shou quickly pressed a few buttons on his console that would allow him to speak through the intercom into the room.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

"The guards were saying something about your people capturing a Tragen-type," Shiro said, his eyes narrowing. "Is that correct?"

"My my, rumors do spread fast."

"Please answer the question."

"Yes, we do have one. Why?"

"Kill it. Now."

"Excuse me?"

"Guardeners are more dangerous than you think. If you know what's good for you. You'll stop whatever it is you are doing and kill the beast, now. If you can't then let me out and I'll do it for you. Either way, kill it before it's too late."

"Too late?"

"I told your commander that these things feed on mana to survive. This planet is rich with it, even in the air. All it needs to do is breathe to gain nourishment. It's how they live, how they evolve, how they mutate."

"You seem to know a lot more than you are letting on," Shou said, trying to not sound suspicious at their so far compliant guest.

"I know enough of how to fight and avoid them, nothing else." Shiro said, his face narrowing at the accusation. "I've also lost hundreds of comrades holding the line. I'll be damned if it was all for nothing because some idiots are too curious for their own good."

"Senpai..you..."

"If you refuse to heed this warning...don't come calling to me..."

Before Shou could say anything else, an alarm rang throughout the base. Causing the two of them to look around in alarm.

"Too late?" Shiro muttered before returning to his bed, his expression unreadable.

* * *

><p>"Why...why now...?" Subaru asked as she clutched her eye with her left hand as her right arm was currently hooked onto an IV.<p>

"Where...where is he?" she wondered, looking around her room with her free eye before a loud alarm was blaring through her ears.

"Warning!" Kasumi's voice echoed throughout the halls with the PA system. "Containment of the Guardener has been compromised! All available forward mages please report to the briefing room for a situation report!"

"That thing got out?" Subaru asked to no one in particular as she carefully removed the IV from her arm and staggered toward the door, using the wall for support, only to find that the door wouldn't open when she pressed the button. "They locked me in?"

She pounded her hand on the door, but even she couldn't hear it over the blaring of the alarms.

"Let me out! Ler me- Wha!"

She tried pounding the door even more only to be surprised as the door suddenly slid open, causing her to lose her balance and fall out. Pushing herself up, she looked around and saw sparks coming out of the door panel in the hallway.

"Did it short out?" she wondered before getting to her feet. "Even if I can't participate, I want to at least know what's going on..."

She made her way past the other base personnel that were running back and forth to their stations, none of them stopping to give her a second glance, as she headed for the briefing room.

* * *

><p>"...right now the mages currently stationed there have kept the Tragen from exiting the encirclement, but it's only a matter of time before...Subaru?"<p>

The door of the briefing room opened and the occupants turned around when Nathan called out to the unexpected visitor. She was resting her back against the doorway as she caught her breath.

"Subaru," Aoi said as she stood up from her seat, her eyes narrowing. "You were supposed to be confined to your bed and room."

"The lock shorted out," Subaru said, looking at her captain. "And I just want to know what's going on. I won't participate unless you let me."

Aoi sighed as she pressed the bridge of her nose.

"Fine, hurry and take a seat," she said, not wanting to waste time arguing. "Continue."

Tea stood up and helped Subaru over to her seat as Nathan continued his explanation.

"As I was saying...right now although the Guardener is away from the civilian sectors, it is moving at a remarkable pace, like when it took down Enforcer Kaufman."

Ed gave a small irritated cough, as Nathan smiled a bit before continuing.

"The containment forces are just barely holding out. Reinforcments from other units are coming but the first wave won't be here for another hour. Our base is the closest and we can get there in less than half an hour."

Aoi nodded her head as she pressed a button on her terminal.

"Commander, is it ready?"

"All final preparations are complete!" Shou's voice came in. "The crew and supplies are all loaded. All we're waiting for are the mages and you, Captain."

"All right. We'll be heading to the scene with _The Spirit of Terra_!"

"We're using a warship on just one enemy?" Tea asked. "Isn't that overkill?"

"Call it intuition, but I have a bad feeling about this. The creature was dormant until just now. I'm thinking that it has a surprise waiting for us. Head to the ship, all of you. Double time! Teana, you and Nathaniel help Subaru."

"Me too?" Subaru asked, as the two of them walked over and pulled her arms around their shoulders.

"Wasn't this what you were hoping for?" Aoi asked as she walked past them, her smile just barely caught by the three.

"Hahaha...same old Captain," Nathan muttered as the three of them hurried down the hall after the others.

"Hey, Nathan," Tea said as she looked at him.

"Hmm?"

"It's been bothering me for a while now...but your voice sounds really similar to someone I knew."

"Really? Who?"

"Ah...now that you mention it...I think I hear it too," Subaru said, her eyes perking up. "I can't believe I didn't hear it before."

"What the heck are you two talking about?"

"But Tea? How did you notice it? It's quite a stretch. I don't think even Aoi-san, Shichiro-san or even Sakura-chan noticed."

"Eh? Ah...well...I was watching some old videos from the old days when we were squad mates. I didn't bring any with me though."

"Ah, is that so?"

"Oh," Nathan said as he understood who they were referring to. "You think I sound like the missing big brother?"

"Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable," Tea said quickly.

"Not really, as long as you don't try to stick a shadow on me, then it's fine."

Before either of them could answer, Aoi's voice called out to them.

"I said double time people! We are burning sunshine!"

* * *

><p><em>The Spirit<em> was different compared to other ships within the Bureau's navy. For one, the design was, for lack of a better term, backwards. While most, if not all, TSAB ships had a primary hull and two "prongs" extended up the front, _The Spirit_ had four prongs attached to wings in the back to use as its thrusters making it look like a four pronged trident. It was a relatively small warship classifying it into its own F class as it was based off the design of the science frigate, _Stargazer_ from the Neo-Belkan Navy, allowing it to operate fluidly in both space and atmosphere. It was outfitted with two magical cannons mounted on the joints between its wings and primary hull. Nothing impressive, but it was designed for rapid responses, not open warfare.

Nathan helped Subaru onto an extra seat on the bridge before he took his spot besides the Captain's chair, Tea had already gone and down below with the other mages.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Amia asked on one of the communication consoles. "You look like you might throw up at the slightest bit of turbulence."

"I won't hit turbulence," Ayumi called out from the front next to the ship controls.

"Hanger doors are opening," Kasumi reported, for once not getting into a conversation that was around her.

"A little boring for a maiden voyage..." Ayumi muttered under her breath as she read off the numbers off her control panel. "All systems green, ma'am."

"Nothing fancy," Aoi said, resting her head on her knuckles. "Just launch. We need to back up those mages as soon as possible."

"How boring..." Ayumi muttered so no one could hear her as The Spirit successfully launched and made its way to the battle zone.

* * *

><p>The Tragen had been moved from the memorial park and taken, carefully to a facility on the edge of the city. It had been asleep the whole way through, now it was awake and tearing a hole through the facility in an attempt to reach freedom. It was so focused on trying to escape, it didn't pay attention to anything around it, not even the two meter thick steel walls or the mages trying to subdue it. And it definatly didn't notice the large frigate coming its way. It did however, notice that something was happening to its body and it felt that being outside was the best place to go.<p>

* * *

><p>Once overhead they saw dozens of lights flashing on the ground as the ground mages attempted to shoot down the Guardener that was trying to suck up the pain and climb over the walls of the facility.<p>

"Well, gotta say that thing is tenacious," Alex said watching the scene through a monitor on the ship. "Any idea how we're supposed to stop that thing?"

"Number one: Don't hold back," Vita said, her grip tightening around her device.

"Eager for revenge ma'am?" Ed asked with a small smirk, only to recoil a bit when she threw him a dirty look.

"Are you going to be okay?" Sakura asked as Ed took off his sling.

"The stimulants should last for the duration of the mission," he answered, not looking at her.

"And after...?"

"I'm going to be crying like a baby..."

"Then perhaps you shouldn't add to it by bouncing up and down on your feet," Tea said looking down at Ed's legs. "You don't want to crack anything else do you?"

"I won't say anything to that."

"Why not?" Marika asked.

"Cuz the moment I do, it WILL crack."

The group fell quiet when a loud cracking noise echoed in the ship's hanger as they all looked at Ed with worry.

"T-that wasn't my leg...I hope?"

* * *

><p>"Why are you twisting that water bottle in front of the intercom?" Subaru asked Ayumi who had a clear plastic water bottle in her hand.<p>

"It was for a good deed," she replied twisting it some more.

"Ayumi-san...please get back to your station," Aoi said, tapping the edge of her chair in annoyance. "Amia, please tell the mages to deploy. That thing must not get out."

* * *

><p>"Okay everyone," Amia's voice rang throughout the hanger as the ramp opened up. "Your mission is to neutralize the Guardener by any means necessary. We can't have that thing attacking the civilian areas so destroy it if you have to."<p>

"All right! One slice of revenge made to order coming right up!" Ed said as he pumped his fist. "Let's do this!"

The ship flew in low, allowing the mages to drop into the battle zone without the use of flight magic and instantly start attacking the Guardener as the ship pulled back up and watched the battle via monitors on the bridge.

The Returners were doing much better than before now that they knew what they were up against, but no matter what they did, the Guardener just shook off their attacks and kept on breaking its way out of the containment.

"This is strange..." Kasumi mumbled from her console.

"What is it?" Aoi asked.

"I'm getting a large reading of magical energy, but it's way too large to be a base generator...I think it's coming from...uh oh..."

"Kasumi-san?"

"I think it's coming from the Guardener!"

Before anyone on the bridge could express their shock or horror Sakura's voice called in from the comm.

"Okaa-san! Something's going on with the monster!" she cried as the bridge monitors all switched to show the creature.

It was hunched over as electricity was crackling around its body, roaring in pain before its body began to be shrouded in a black aura.

"It's like what happened to that wolf thing before!" Sakura said, remembering her first encounter with the Wolfshund as it transformed. "It's transforming!"

"It was never under control from the containment field," Natahn muttered in understanding as his eyes widened in horror. "It was using it as an incubator!"

Then the entire ship began to shake as a loud roar streaked across the sky, as if the world was being shattered like glass.

"That's not turbulence..." Ayumi muttered as she pulled the ship away from aan expanding figure. "That's not natural either..."

The last containment zone shattered as the creature materialized itself out of the dark light. It was more of a monster than it had ever been before. A mind-bogglingly large and hideous monster, standing well over seven stories tall. It was amazingly thin and its bones can be seen through its hide. On its torso was its former face, hanging over a gap where its stomach should be, instead there was only a gap as lightning circulated from its waist into its chest, connected only with its spine.

For its head it was a horrid white mouth-less face with two red eyes and one yellow eye, arranged in a triangle shape on its forehead and on its cheeks. What really catches the eye, was its right arm. It's bones are sticking out of its elbow and it's fingers were elongated and falling apart. It wasn't even able to lift its arm up and was forced to drag it along as it moved.

"It seems like it never fully recovered from the damage it took from you, Subaru," Aoi observed, glancing over to the Cyborg. "I just hope that that advantage is enough. Ayumi-san! Provide the mages with cover fire as they regroup! It doesn't matter if the shots are absorbed, just draw that thing away from the city!"

"Roger," the helmsman replied, turning the ship around and firing its cannons at it.

The oversized Guardener, roared in pain as multiple burns marks appeared on its body where the cannons struck.

"Attacks have hit their mark and show no signs of being absorbed!" Kasumi reported. "But from its movements it seems that the damage was negligible either way!"

"The Guardener is gathering a large amount of energy!" Ayumi reported. "It's about to make an attack."

"All hands brace for evasive maneuvers!" Aoi called out to the entire ship as Nathan grabbed the Captain's seat for support as he was the only one on the entire bridge that was standing.

"You all better hold on!" Ayumi said as she banked the ship, avoiding a large electrical beam that shot out form the creature's hand.

As the ship straightened itself out, Subaru clutched her stomach, trying very hard not to spill her guts out.

"Subaru!" Nathan called out as she looked up before catching something he threw at her. She opened her hands and saw that it was Mach Caliber.

"Your device has been modified and reinforced," he said. "If you are feeling up to it, go ground-side and assist the others."

"Is it okay?" she asked, turning her gaze toward Aoi.

"Don't push yourself," she said, not looking at her. "If I feel that you are not up to it, you will follow my orders and pull out, understood?"

"Yes!" Subaru said as she rushed out of the room, feeling much more energetic all of a sudden.

"You always seem to have a back up plan," Aoi said to her assistant.

"There are too many unknown variables," he replied. "It doesn't hurt to have a few extra plans when things don't go as planned."

"Does that include breaking into the armory and returning a confiscated sword?"

"I have no idea what you are insinuating ma'am."

"Humph, so be it."

Nevertheless, both of them had a wry smile on their faces.

"Of course...the secondary back up should be arriving any minute..." Nathan thought as he looked down at his flashing data pad.

* * *

><p>"What is it?"<p>

"I've come with a proposal."

The dark haired man looked up at his visitor with suspicion.

"What exactly do you mean by 'proposal?'" he asked.

"I want you to assist our soldiers in this battle," he said, extending a small device out to the man. "I believe we are way in over our heads in this one."

"What happened?"

"Has a Guardener ever mutated a second time?"

"Second? You mean the Tragen already changed once?"

"I'll take that as a no," Shou said with a nod as a monitor appeared on the wall of the room, showing the raging battle taking place.

The Gargantuan was rampaging around wrapped in a light blue glow of Subaru's Wing Road where the flightless mages were positioned and attempting to damage it by focusing their attacks on its spine, while the flight base damages were attack its arm. Every time the Guardener tried to move, _The Spirit of Terra_, would strafe it with its cannons.

"What kind of creature is this?" Shiro asked standing up from his bed.

"Like you said...it seems that our curiosity has turned against us and caused the creature to mutate into this new beast."

"Because using a mana powered containment was such a brilliant idea," Shiro said with blatant sarcasm. "What did you think was going to happen?"

"You seem to understand quite a lot about us," Shou noted causing the man to scowl at his direction. "Either way, I ask that you lend us your assistance in this matter."

"Is there a choice in this matter?"

"I'll be blunt. If you truly the man most of us here believe you are, then there is no way you would let women do the fighting while you sit back on your ass in this room. So I am offering you a chance to help."

A loud shriek came from the monitor as both men turned their heads to it to see something fly off the Gargantuan's arm. At first they thought it was part of the creature's flesh but it was actually a person, to be more precise...

"Sakura-chan!" Shou called out taking an unconscious step forward toward the screen,

"'Sakura-chan?'" Shiro repeated as the girl's tiny body was wedged into a wall of a building before it crumbled around her. "You deployed a small girl like that out there!"

"She chose this path herself, wanthing to be able to fight alongside the people she cared about, rather than always being protected by them."

The two men glared at each other before Shiro relented.

"Fine, I'll help...but it's on my terms!" he spat.

"What is it the-oomph!" Shou asked only for him to be punched in the gut, followed by two more punches to his face, knocking his glasses askew.

"There," Shiro said, flinging some blood off his hands. "This way you can say I broke out. I have no intention of joining you people in any official or unofficial manner. This is my fight."

He ran over to the corner and picked up his sword before running past Shou, who was getting back onto his feet, holding what seemed to be a broken nose.

"Damn it...the man doesn't know how to hold back," he mumbled looking at the screen again as the Wing Road shattered around it. "Please make it in time..."

* * *

><p>The Gargantuan didn't even need to hit her. All it did was swing its massive grotesque arm and the wind shattered the Wing Road and sent Subaru flying down to the ground next to Sakura.<p>

"Subaru?" Amia called out. "Are you all right? Please respond!"

"I'm..." Subaru began but felt a stinging pain in her arm and turned to see that a section of her arm was missing, revealing her cybernetics. "No...I'm definitely...not okay..."

"Subaru-san! I'll head there right now!" Alex said over the comm.

"Whoa look out you dumbass!" Ed's voice came through as there was a loud explosion.

"I...I think I can head over!" Marika reported. "But I'm not sure I'll get their in time!"

"Subaru! Can you get up?" Aoi asked.

"I...I can stand...but can't move my arm."

"I see...then get out of there..."

"Huh?" Subaru couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But what about..."

"If you try to help her then you are both dead...this is an order...get out..."

"Aoi-san!" Kasumi's voice was coming through the other end as well. "You're just going to leave your daughter?"

"Quiet!" Aoi snapped and Kasumi went quiet immediately. "Subaru...pull back...now!"

"I'm sorry...Aoi-san...but I can't do that..."

Subaru managed to pull herself to her feet and started limping toward Sakura's unconscious body.

"If I abandon her like this...he would never forgive," she muttered as she reached Sakura's body. There was a little blood trickling down her forehead but other than the fact she was unconscious, she seemed physically fine. "If she's not here when he comes back...he might not even forgive himself..."

"Subaru Nakajima!" Aoi shouted as Subaru turned off the communicator and let it drop to her feet.

She then bent over and hoisted Sakura up and pulled her arm around her neck and tried to move away as The Gargantuan pulled back its fist.

"I'm going to save her!" Subaru said toward the beast as its fist slowly moved towards her. "And you're not going to stop me!"

"My god, you are a freaking idiot..."

The fist crashed into the floor but Subaru felt no pain as the dust and dirt kicked up around her. As it slowly cleared she spotted someone in front of her, dressed in a pure white ragged cloak with a breather mask hanging down his neck.

"This is why I dislike fighting with women. Always acting by their emotions." Shiro said as blood was dripping down his arm. He had placed a large sword, one with a blade as long as he was tall, between himself and The Gargantuan, and managed to stop the fierce punch with it single-handedly. "Putting a creature that feeds on mana in a cage powered by mana and thinking that it was working simply because it was complacent? It was feeding you damned fools. Though this is the first time I'd seen one this big...so everything from here is going to be special service!"

He pushed up with his blade and The Gargantuan seemed to stumble backwards as he pulled out the sword attached to his waist.

"I've been wanting to do this again!" he shouted as he pressed two fingers on one of the gems embedded into the hilt of the blade and smashed it between them. He then sliced open the palm of his hand, his blood spilling out, stopping just before it hit the floor. The blood began to form small hexagonal panels that surrounded his body as his eyes began to glow a dark red as he spoke.

"**Blood Limiter System Level 2, repose! Standby Ready! ****Rise Up!"**

* * *

><p>"A large source of magical energy has appeared in front of Returners 1 and 3!" Amia said as she turned toward Aoi.<p>

"What's going on here?" Aoi asked.

"Just one of our plans..."

Everyone on the bridge blinked and looked up as Shou's face appeared on a monitor, with a black eye and blood running down his nose.

"What happened to your face?" Kasumi asked, almost hysterical.

"Our guest escaped after knocking me out," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "I'll be submitting a report and will accept any punishment for negligence, Captain."

"What do you mean 'our plans,' Commander?" Aoi asked.

Shou said nothing as his eyes wondered over to where Nathan was standing, who gave a small nervous cough.

"I am prepared for punishment as well ma'am..." he said softly.

Aoi looked like she wanted to punch him and kiss him at the same. But she opted to just do the former and planted one into his stomach.

"Kof!" Nathan let out a small cry as he doubled over and fell onto the ground.

"Punishment dealt." Aoi said as she brushed her hands.

* * *

><p>From the blood out stepped a white figure, clad in a full plate armor similar to that of a medieval knight. In his hands were two crystal blue swords, one a large Zweihänder the other one, a relatively small broadsword, and on his back were wings made up of hundreds of blades.<p>

"**Oh yeah...this will do nicely," **the man spoke with the same deep robotic voice that Subaru had heard almost three years ago.

"You...you really are...!" she said but the man ignored her as his body slowly rose from the ground.

"**I dunno who you think, want, or expect me to be,"** he muttered. **"But I am my own person. Not a shadow for you to place your expectations on. This is something I choose to do, by my own will for my own selfish reasons. Don't but in."**

He shot one look at her before speeding toward The Gargantuan.

"**Or so I say...but this thing is monstrous!" **He said to himself as he avoided the The Gargantuan's swing. **"This thing isn't moving like an animal looking for food...more like a creature hell bent on destruction..."**

The Gargantuan threw another punch at him but he gave himself a quick burst of speed and dodged up over it, adjusting himself to the sonic boom.

"**But in the end, it is just another big, slow target!"**

Landing on the creature's arm, he began to rush forward on it. Half way up, he stabbed one of his blades into the creature's flesh and began carving a gap up its arm. The creature began to roar. It wasn't a roar in anger like when the TSAB mages were attacking it. It was a roar of pain. One that shattered some of the windows of the facility.

* * *

><p>"He's hurting it?"<p>

Aboard the bridge of _The Spirit of Terra_, everyone was looking in awe at the sight of Shiro flying around the beast, like a bee against a bear, causing massive wounds to open all across its body.

"No spells are being detected," Kasumi reported. "At least, nothing other than his Armor and flight."

"So he's doing all of that...by his own strength?" Amia asked, her hands over her mouth.

"Who's the bigger monster?" Ayumi asked, staring blankly at the screen.

"I think it's the blade that's special," Shou said as everyone turned toward his screen. "Look, even though he has two swords, he's only been attacking with the one in his right hand, the one that he keeps around his waist. If I remember correctly, it was also the what he was using to kill the smaller beasts in one blow."

"But it's not going to be enough at this rate," Aoi noted as everyone's eyes were back on the screen. "The creature is healing itself."

* * *

><p>"<strong>What in the world...?"<strong> Shiro remained stationary in the air as he watched the event in front of him. The Gargantuan did something he didn't expect. It tore of its own disfigured arm and raised it up into the air as it disintegrated as a new, much smaller arm and fitting arm erupted from its shoulder. The other wounds had also completely healed thanks to the large intake of magic energy. **"Cannibalizing your own arm to regenerate your wounds...definitely some kind of hell spawn. Too bad..."**

He returned his smaller blade to its sheath on his waist as the larger blade shattered by itself and the shards were integrated into his wings.

"**I'm going to end this right here...can you hear me, Mister Glasses?"**

* * *

><p>"Huh, I guess he means me," Shou said.<p>

"**I'm going to kill this thing. Tell any of your soldiers within five blocks of this thing to get the hell out or prepare to be burned alive."**

"Not really giving us much of a choice, huh Captain?"

Aoi simply nodded as she rose from her chair.

"Tell the others to hurry and retrieve Returners 1 and 3," she told Amia. "Then send a message to all mages on the field to pull back to the facility. The area around the primary target has become a kill zone. Ayumi, pull us away too."

"Aye, ma'am," Ayumi replied as the ship began backing away from the combat zone.

* * *

><p>Shiro's wings broke off his back as a magic circle formed underneath his feet and around The Gargantuan, locking them in place.<p>

"**Can't move can you big guy?" **he asked as The Gargantuan was thrashing around trying to remove its legs. **"Don't worry...it'll be over soon."**

The shattered wings began forming something overhead as storm clouds began to mysteriously form over the two of them. He raised his hand up, his palm facing up into the sky as the large form of his spell began to be made clear. A gigantic sword.

"**Calling the heavens to receive the light and cast judgment. The silver blade forged from the fires that gave birth to life..."**

He then whipped his hand downward, pointing at The Gargantuan.

"**The Blade of the Creation, Izanagi!"**

The blade drove itself into The Gargantuan, slicing the creature clean in two before exploding into a pillar of light as it touched the ground, enveloping everything around the creature like Shiro had warned.

Down at the facility, the team from _The Spirit of Terra _watched as the light disappeared, leaving no trace of The Gargantuan.

"Holy crap," Ed said, his mouth hanging open. "He really did it..."

"That's the power of the Devil Ärms wasn't it?" Alex asked. "Of Null Enders?"

"You guys had someone like that sleeping on a bed this entire time?" Vita asked, looking at the Returners.

Marika and Subaru were standing next to an unconscious Sakura, who was sleeping on a bed provided by the center, looking out at the light with distrusting eyes.

"Why did the Commander let him out?" Marika asked.

"I don't know," Subaru said, clutching her damaged arm. "But if he didn't...we'd still be out there fighting."

"At least...you can admit that..."

The Returners spun around as Shiro walked out from a shadow on the wall, clutching his side as he hobbled over to them. Marika immediately pointed her device at him and he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hey...if you shoot me...I really might die..." he muttered. "I...think...I'm going to..."

Shiro suddenly fell over on his face, and it didn't take long for them to realize why. His palm was still bleeding, the cut he had made before he began his attack on The Gargantuan was still open, and still bleeding.

"Move over!" Ed said as he elbowed the girls out of the way, pointing his device at Shiro's hand. "Ashen Blaze."

A small stream of blue flames shout out onto the man's palm, as he gritted his teeth in pain as the flames cauterized his wound, although leaving quite a nasty burn.

"Better than the alternative," Ed said looking down on the man, who nodded his head slowly.

"What happened?" Aoi's voice came to them.

"Our guest...Shiro was bleeding quite badly so Edward had to cauterize the wound," Alex explained. "We need an immediate pickup for us as well as the people in the facility."

"Understood," Kasumi said. "We'll pick you up as well as any critically injured personnel. After that, we'll leave it to the reinforcements."

Alex nodded as the group looked down at the injured man, who was staring back at them.

"Those aren't the eyes of gratitude..." Shiro mumbled before he closed his eyes, blacking out.

* * *

><p>Author's note<p>

Too tired to do my final proofread cuz this chapter is too damn long. 12k+ words...

Guess who's back~

Mister No-Memory is actually Null Enders! And he's a good guy? Shocker right? Don't quite understand how defibs work so if it's strange...meh...ignore it. She's a damn cyborg.

Subaru also probably won't be using Gear Omega any time soon either. Quite a time for it to crap out on her don't you think? Chapter was quite long but I liked it, and I'm sure you guys do too. Don't forget to leave a review!


	10. Chapter 10: Silent Fears

_Everyone is afraid of something. Courage means to take a stand, despite that fear.  
><em>

Devil Arms: ReturnerS

**_Amidst the eternal waves of time_**  
><strong><em>From a ripple of change shall the storm rise<em>**  
><strong><em>Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow<em>**  
><strong><em>Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: Silent Fears<strong>

"Hmm...now that I think about it," Shou said nasally as he placed a hand on his chin in thought, a bandage over his nose and eye. "I never get a chance to say the results of the test now did I?"

He asked to the crowd in front of him consisting of the Returners, the back up mages, the bridge crew of _The Spirit of Terra _and Shichiro.

Having grown tired of being crammed into Shou's tiny office, the group was in the briefing room instead, where a monitor showing the now sleeping Shiro in the center.

"But as you all probably have guessed, this man is none other than Null Enders, Emperor of the Neo-Belkan Empire that attacked the TSAB three years ago before being pushed back and defeated by Kimura Yuuki."

"Is it okay to have such a dangerous person here?" Marika asked.

"Based on the fact he hasn't tried to actively kill any of us and even helped us, I say he isn't lying when he says he has amnesia."

"In any case," Aoi interrupted as all heads turned toward her. "I want this information to stay in this room, and none of you are to take any action against him. The last thing we need is for him to go on a justified rampage again."

"And if he survived, he might know where Yuuki is, right?" Shichiro added as Aoi nodded slowly.

"Yes...there is a possibility of that as well. In any case, you're all dismissed."

As they left, Nathan came up to Aoi and began whispering into her ear.

"The Admirals are going to want an explanation about this," he said. "How do you wish to proceed?"

"We're not going to be able to hide this," she said solemnly. "There were too many witnesses. We're just going to have to come clean about it as much as we can."

"Then can I ask a question?"

The two of them looked up and saw Vita was still standing there.

"Just what the heck is going on here? Why the heck does that emperor look like him?"

* * *

><p>After leaving the briefing room, Subaru, along with Ed, Tea, Sakura, and Alex were sitting in Subaru's room, unsure of what to make of the new revelation. The four of them already knew Null Enders's real identity after all.<p>

"Well...this certainly is a shocker isn't it?" Ed asked, determined to break the stuffy silence, as he shifted his arms and legs into a more comfortable position on the chair. "It's like playing slots and getting three sevens, only to find out that those sevens meant that you owe the casino money instead of winning big."

"Now's not the time for jokes, Edward," Alex said calmly.

"Do you think Marika-chan is going to be okay?" Sakura asked. "Both her parents were killed because of him after all..."

"She's smart enough not to attack him," Subaru assured her, placing her good arm around Sakura's shoulders. "Besides, Amia is watching over her right now."

"So, it really is him then?" Tea asked Subaru.

"Yes. His Armor may be a bit different, but his voice and his spells, that's definitely him. I can't ever forget them so easily."

"You mean you had to take on that crazy sword he dropped on that monster?" Ed asked incredulously. "Damn, I was scared just looking at it drop from the sidelines. Can't imagine how it must be like looking up at that thing from underneath."

Subaru shivered slightly, remembering that Yuuki had to cut off his own feet to escape, even though he regenerated them afterward.

"What's going to happen to him now?" Sakura asked softly as the others turned to look at her. "I-it's not that I'm worried about him! It's that...he's technically a criminal isn't he? Even though he saved all of us, they're not just going to over look him are they?"

"The way I see it," Tea said as she leaned against the wall. "There are two possible options. The first is that they're going to try and recruit him to join. If they do, they'll be able to place limiters on him so he can be controlled."

"But remember what he said before he activated his Armor," Alex pointed out. "It sounds like he already has limiters placed on himself. Not to mention that sword he carries around that seems to be able to cut through anything magic based with ease. And even without that, Yuuki-san has always shown an uncanny ability to break out of any form of binding."

"What's the second choice?" Ed asked.

"They arrest him," Tea answered simply. "Of course, I don't think he'd go down without a fight so if they do try that, they're going to have to move and act while he's still unconscious and I don't think Aoi-san is going to just let them."

"So the only real choice we've got..." Subaru mumbled to herself. "Is to hope that he's willing to help us."

"At the very least, I don't think he'll have any problems if we ask him to help fight the Guardeners. Though I can't say if he'll agree to other problems."

"Man...this is going to be a political shitstorm at best," Ed said leaning back against the chair. "If word got out that he's actually a dead enemy emperor, the TSAB might be as good as done."

Again the room fell silent. It wasn't until Sakura smacked both of her cheeks with her hands.

"There's no point sitting around like this!" she said as she stood up from the bed. "I wanted to become stronger so I wouldn't have to rely on him to protect me! Onee-chan! Can you help me train for a bit? I was a liability in the last fight! I don't want it to happen again!"

The others stared at her for a moment before Subaru nodded and the two left the room together, before the other three got up to leave as well.

"Really now," Tea muttered softly. "Sometimes she makes me feel like I'm the one who's the little kid."

"No kidding," Ed said as he walked with a limp. "All things considered though, it's not too surprising in my opinion. What's wrong Alex? Upset that she didn't pick you to help her train?"

"That's not it," Alex replied. "Besides, out styles are completely different. I'm just wondering if Yuuki-san really did survive if he was able to..."

"You think he's gonna drop from the sky or something?"

"With all the stuff that's been happening lately, I wouldn't be all that surprised."

* * *

><p>Shou entered the room holding Null Enders, or rather Shiro, who was on the bed with multiple medical equipment monitoring his status. Shou walked over to one and examined it for a minute before straightening up and walking over to a wall terminal where he pressed a few buttons causing the lights to dim.<p>

"You can stop pretending now," he said without turning around. "All recording equipment have been set to a loop."

The man on the bed opened his eyes and turned to face his caretaker.

"What is it now?" he asked.

"I have to talk to you about what's going to happen over the next few days. Your little power show did not go unnoticed by the government or the public. Every learned person on this planet saw what you did last night."

"So I took down a monster," he said with a shrug. "Big deal."

"It's because there was a certain emperor that went by the name of Null Enders that used the same abilities as you, and that man tried to kill everyone on this planet."

"I've been hearing that name for a while. Who exactly is he?"

"He really doesn't know?" Shou thought as his eyes glanced over at a machine in the corner before speaking out loud. "He was a man that came to a planet called Earth where he attacked a TSAB convoy in order to execute one of his men that was being held captive for treason against him. After that he was getting ready to return to wherever he came from before some high official of the Bureau thought it was a good idea to attempt to capture him, leading to a short but devastating war between them on this planet. The war cost the lives of hundreds of soldiers, including the Captain's son."

"That's what happens in war," the other man replied, although is eyes narrowed in anger all the same. "People die. And from the sounds of things, both sides are in the wrong. An unprovoked attack to take back a prisoner to personally execute became an attack of retaliation due to trying to capture an empire's ruler."

"That's right. So now you know." Shou's eyes wondered back over to the machine in the corner again before he continued. "Sakura-chan and Subaru-san are okay by the way. Sakura-chan only suffered a slight concussion and Subaru's arm has already been repaired."

"That's good to hear, but I don't see how that has anything to do with me."

"Really? You seemed anxious about it to me."

"I admit, seeing a small girl crash into the ground from fifty feet up and another with a gaping hole in her arm that was full of sparkling wires was a bit troubling, but it was hardly any of my business to ask."

Shou frowned again as he looked at the machine.

"Still nothing...hmm...I wonder..."

"Though those two are okay," he said out loud. "I couldn't say the same for Teana-san."

There it was. It was faint and only for half a second, but there was a small spike.

"Bingo."

"Teana-san? Who's that?" Shiro asked, as Shou felt a stare burn into his back.

"I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. Orange hair, dual guns, used to have twin tails, total tsundere."

* * *

><p>On the other side of the base at the base's shooting range, Tea let out a loud sneeze as she covered her mouth.<p>

"Ugh...darn pollen," she sniffed.

"Should I close the window?" Marika asked as she handed her a pack of tissues.

"Please and thank you," she replied as she blew her nose.

* * *

><p>Shiro was glaring at the bespectacled man in front of him. The man had a victorious smile on his face. Shiro had been careless and had talked himself into a corner.<p>

"Don't worry about it, Senpai," Shou said as the lights turned back on to full. "I won't tell anyone. After all, it's not like you were lying about your amnesia. It's just how much you don't remember that you were keeping a secret."

"And why would you want to keep it a secret?" he asked.

"The same reason you are. Because there is no reason to expose it. But really, I guess even you can't completely control your heart rate. A single jump was all I needed to realize you did remember Teana-san. I apologize for tricking you, so please don't punch me again. I need my eyes to work."

"So? Is there a point to checking this? To checking how much I remember?" he asked, his eyes still glaring at his former Kouhai.

"A few questions, and then I have to go over a schedule that involves you."

"What then?"

"What is the last thing you remember?" Shou asked, taking a seat next to the bed.

"Babysitting," Shiro grunted, turning his head away.

"Babysitting?" Shou asked, nearly jumping out of his seat. "Who? What? How? When?"

"Not mine," Shiro mumbled, not amused at the reaction. "I was babysitting someone else's kid. Takamachi Vivio."

"Why?"

"Because I needed to do so for my plan to work."

"Wage war on the TSAB? Well you don't have to worry about that anymore. The members of Devil Watch are all dead."

This news got Shiro's attention as he turned to face Shou, eyes wide as saucepans.

"How? Who? When?" he sputtered.

"Impaled with extreme prejudice. You. Three years ago." Shou answered.

Shiro remained silent before a dark chuckle escaped from his feral smile.

"Hahahaha...hah hah hah hah hah hah! Damn! And here I thought I would have a chance to kill them only to see that I already did...and I don't remember a damn thing."

Shou was slightly disturbed by his friend's reaction but he understood where the hatred came from so he didn't say anything about it, instead opting to ask his next question.

"So are you willing to cooperate with the TSAB?"

"No."

The answer was swift and definitive. While the man had no reason to actively destroy the TSAB anymore, he also had no real reason to assist them either.

"But Task Force 501 is a different matter," the man said with a smile. "After all...it's mine."

"Please forgive my crude sense of naming," Shou said, also with a smile as he placed his right hand over his heart and gave a crude bow. "We had been looking up some things."

"So...what? You guys have knowledge of the future?"

"Of _A _future," Shou corrected. "The fact that you are here while we have a record of you going missing already makes everything you know and or remember personally moot to a point. The knowledge we do have is what would happen if your plan succeeded and you managed to kill off the TSAB. Which, I must say, you were explicitly thorough with."

"So...no one joined...?" he asked softly.

"Plans often go awry after contact with the enemy. You ended up alone, Senpai."

"Humph, I took into account that possibility," he replied stiffly.

"At the very least, this would further discourage him from attempting a coup," Shou thought.

"So...what...I created a time portal and came back just to kill a guy and end up fighting a war with the Bureau, again, and end up killing my past self?" Shiro asked, trying to wrap his head around all the time ball jumble.

"Actually, you both disappeared in a portal," Shou corrected. "So the fact that you are alive means that there's a good chance he is as well."

A flash of realization came across Shiro's face as he nodded pensively. This caught Shou's attention as he raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know something?"

"Maybe...but I don't want to say anything since I am not 100% sure. I'm still having trouble believing I even succeeded after all. I mean it was a plan that called for a straight forward encirclement and charge against all of Bureau space. How the hell was that not defeated?"

The two men simply stared at each other before Shiro sighed.

"God...they _were_ that incompetent?"

"Magic nullifying mass based weaponry can do a handful on things."

"Humph, what's the use of power if there is no strategy?"

The two men sat silently for a while before Shou cleared his throat.

"Well we'll leave the future talk here for today. There are more important matters to attend to, like setting you up with a meeting with the Admiralty Board."

"Me...?" Shiro asked. "You want me...to meet with some higher ups? And hope that I don't want to kill them all?"

Again Shou's eyes narrowed. The man was talking about killing people too easily. He understood the reason though. After all, Task Force 501 "Shadow" was supposed to be a suicide squad under his command. Killing was expected of them as much as dying was. He should stop getting surprised at all of this. After all, the man was, besides his DNA, completely different from the Senpai he knew, the one that gave everything he had to protect everyone. Opposite sides of a coin like night and day.

"I'd rather you didn't joke like that. In any case, they're going to want to see you and they expect you to be 'contained,'" he said the last word full of spite but was surprised to see Shiro simply shrug and lean back on the bed.

"Go ahead, heck go over board with it, make it seem like I'm perfectly pacified. They'll show their true colors that way."

"You have a suggestion?"

"I do..."

As Shiro explained his idea to Shou, the man's expression changed form shock, to understanding, to amused as he began laughing.

"Hahahahaha! That's an excellent plan. They'll never know what hit them. Well I spent enough time here. Better go make preparations. Can I trust you to behave?"

Shiro shot the man a look that said "What am I, five?"

Shou gave a small smirk before he exited, stopping only once as he looked back into the door.

"Oh...and even though you're not the one I remember three years ago, your still the one I remember four years ago and earlier. So, after four years, welcome back."

As the door closed, the amnesiac yet to be emperor sighed as he lied back down on his bed.

"It's been six years in my memory though...but I guess even three can really change a person. I know that all too well..." he muttered placing his arm over his eyes. "No shadows...they're not mine to begin with..."

* * *

><p>Two days later, Shadow's Forward mages along with Amia , Kasumi, Ayumi and Shichiro were in the briefing room where Ayumi was busy typing away on her terminal.<p>

"Are you almost done?" Kasumi asked leaning over her chair.

"Connection is already established," Ayumi explained. "I'm just making 500% sure that they won't be able to find me."

"Is it really okay to do this?" Amia asked. "I mean it's a secret meeting right? Couldn't we get into trouble?"

"Done, I linked it to Aoi-san's terminal so if we get caught then it'll be like she was just recording it for later viewing."

"We are so going to get in trouble..." the operator said as she placed her head against her knees as Marika patted her on the shoulder.

Within seconds, the monitor in the center of the room lit up to reveal a large circular room where a few dozen people were sitting elevated around a small clearing.

"What is this a courthouse?" Ed asked looking a bit closer. "Guess you weren't kidding when they said they'd judge him."

"But according to the data we stole, the last time he was in a courthouse..." Alex muttered softly to himself, but it seems Ayumi heard him because she turned around toward him. She then got up and walked over to Ed who stepped back in shock.

"W-what?" he asked, only to blink stupidly as she hugged him. "Okay...what did I do?"

"Shut up," she said before she pushed him away and returned to her terminal.

"Okay?"

As Ayumi sat down, Alex leaned his head close to her ear, making sure Ed and Sakura were looking away so not to cause a misunderstanding.

"I don't think he brushed up on history," he whispered.

"Doesn't matter," she replied calmly.

"What is this!" Subaru's exclamation caused everyone's gaze to turn to the screen. Shiro was being lead in...or rather wheeled into the courtroom.

He was wearing a straitjacket that had him bound to a trolley as well as prevented him from using his arms. Even with that precaution, the man was encased in a clear glass box with the only visible openings being air holes as a strange machine was hooked up to it.

"They really don't want him trying anything," Ed mused, although he was clearly not anymore happy with the arrangement than Subaru was.

"The device looks like an experimental miniature AMF generator," Tea noted. "The field size it emits is very small but it's probably enough to fill the cage."

"But I thought he was supposed to be a guest!" Sakura said. "This makes him no more than a prisoner! He even managed to kill that giant monster!"

"I think that's the reason for all the 'security' they're forcing on him," Alex noted. "It's like gathering a bunch of world leaders and putting them in the same room as a time bomb after all. They, as well as the Captain, can't afford to be careless."

"He doesn't seem to mind all that much," Ayumi commented, just as Shiro began to yawn in his stance and shifted his position a bit. "He almost looks bored."

"He's practically staring down the barrel of a gun...and he's bored?" Tea asked exasperated.

"The man looked down the barrel of an Arc-en-ciel class cannon back on Earth and he blocked it with only a shortage of breath for his trouble," Ed remembered. "A room fill with, mostly, arm chair generals isn't going to faze him if that doesn't."

"Shh, it's starting," Marika said as everyone turned their attention to the screen.

* * *

><p>"Please state your name before the board," Rear Admiral Thomas Bradley said, sitting in the center of the room where Shiro was directly facing. It seems that he will be the one presiding over this little meeting.<p>

"Shiro," the bound man replied, taking note of all the other people in the room as they spoke up. "I have no second name as what it seems to be a custom around here."

"Are these restraints truly necessary?" a blonde Admiral asked. "The man seems civilized enough not to cause a commotion."

"The man has enough power to take on a monstrosity that even Admiral Wood's forces were unable to contain!" a rather hot-headed Admiral replied. "What's to say he won't do that here?"

"Because we've yet a reason to give him one," a mint green haired Admiral replied.

"Nevertheless," Shiro interrupted. "If this will give you some peace of mind, I find no reason to remove it. Although, I must say it is just a bit tight...ma'am."

While most of the Admirals shook their heads, a few of them smiled at the man's words.

"Back to the point of the matter," Bradley said as he retook control over the situation as he covered his mouth. "To be blunt, what are your plans? From your recent displays, it shows that you do not tolerate the presence of these...Guardeners...anymore than we do."

"That would be correct," Shiro replied, nodding as far down as he could. "For the last three years, perspective wise, of my life, I've been fighting them at every waking moment."

"How much sleep do you usually get?" A dark haired Admiral sitting next to the green haired one asked.

"For your time...three hours usually. Five if I'm lucky. None on rainy days. Rain brings other dangers than just being acidic. They don't appear sporadically over there as they do here. No, over there, they move like an army...a plague...a swarm of locusts."

"How much do you know about them?" an Admiral behind him asked.

"That there are only four basic types and that each can mutate to a different form once it absorbs enough mana. Our world had already been sucked dry and we've already killed nearly all the mutated ones by the time I arrived here. The ones you see are new ones that changed either from absorbing mana from your planet...or by killing my comrades."

A solemn silence spread within the room, as well as those who were watching it, unbeknownst to most of the room's occupants.

"Speaking of which," another unknown Admiral asked. "I was wondering about your weapons...is it possible to duplicate them?"

"I don't think so. One: I was not the blacksmith who created the sword. Two: The element used in its creation seems to be unknown to your scientist. Three: The sword acts as a sort of limiter to myself. I don't quite understand or remember why the limiter was placed on me, but without it I am unable to fight at 100%."

A small murmur rushed across one side of the room, the side that Shiro speculated, contained the ones who would want to use him as a weapon, one that they believe they can control. Although he kept an unknowing and expressionless face, inwardly he was smiling.

"All according to plan," he thought to himself. He would never allow himself to be used as a tool of war again. No, he'd sooner kill himself, and the perpetrators, before he'd let that happen. Before he was put into a situation like that again.

"Like...that?" he thought again. "What am I thinking about?"

"Mister Shiro," Bradley's voice brought Shiro back to earth. "Before we deviate any further, I'd like to ask you again. What are your plans? Do you intend on helping the Time-Space Administration Bureau fight off these monsters?"

This time, Shriro openly smiled. The Rear Admiral's carefully chosen words told him that the man was well aware of what was going to happen, meaning that there are those that Shadow's leadership actually mutually trusted. These words were perfect for him.

"No. I don't think I will," he replied, loud enough so that his words would echo in the room as well as in the ears of every person present.

As the Admirals burst open with cries of anger and thinly veiled fear, the dark haired Admiral that asked him how much sleep he actually got spoke up over the noise.

"Is there any reason why not? From what we understand, your comrades are holding the line to give us enough time to put up a fight."

"Because, Admiral," Shiro said, turning his attention to his old superior. "One: You left hundreds of civilians in the combat zone I arrived in even though you received prior warning of the appearance of the Guardeners. Two: Your forces are largely, if not completely, reliant on mana based weaponry rendering them largely ineffective of even the most basic Guardeners, if not outright useless. Three: Trust is important in a cooperative effort and I don't trust most of you nearly as far as I can throw you. And it looks like most of you don't trust me as far as you can throw me."

The murmuring was growing louder, but he couldn't do anything about it...not yet anyway.

"The intelligence given was from an unknown source!" someone said.

"And yet the unit that received the information acted upon it, not once, but twice. And both times succeeded in preventing a disaster." The blonde Admiral counterpointed, much to Shiro's surprise. Mostly because it was effectively hindering their side of the negotiations, although not as much as if he had been able to say it.

"But Mass Based Weaponry is too dangerous to create and/or deploy," another Admiral said.

"That I understand," Shiro said trying to find the one who said it. "This threat would either be too short lived or too destructive for you to create a new line of weaponry to counter it. But as you can see mana based weapons can hurt and kill them. You just need someone with the power and efficiency to do so."

Even though there was one point remaining, no one felt the need to mention it. Simply having Shiro in such a cage was proof enough that most of them didn't trust the man.

"If I may interrupt," the green haired admiral spoke up again. "You said that you didn't trust most of us. Is there someone who you do trust enough so that you would be able to work with them?"

Shiro looked up at the woman without blinking for a moment before he spoke.

"The ones who treated my injuries have gained my trust as I theirs," he said, to the indignation of quite a few of the other Admirals. "And it seems that they have enough ability to be able to take down quite a few non-mutated Guardeners, and I prefer to work under someone who doesn't give orders from behind a desk, but at the front."

More muttering from the less than happy Admirals. On one hand, if they allowed it, they'd gain the cooperation of a very powerful...being...that was more than happy to slaughter the mysterious creatures invading their world. On the other hand, that meant they would have no control over it as it would be placed within the autonomous unit, one that already has quite a few powerful and skillful mages under its command.

Precisely the dilemma that Shiro had hope to stir up.

* * *

><p>"Damn," Ed said as he straightened his back. "The man is one hell of a speaker."<p>

Twenty minutes after the man's offer and still the Admirals were bouncing back and forth with pointless information and questions.

"He used to be an emperor," Teana reminded him. "It's natural that he'd pick up a few things. Although, I doubt they'd keep playing into his hands like this."

"Right," Vita nodded before continuing with her voice filled with scorn and anger. "They're bound to remember that he's tied up, eventually. In most of their minds, this was supposed to be an interrogation, not a negotiation."

"And he has to put up with this farce," Alex mumbled to himself. "So much for not wanting to enrage him to the point of murder...this was the very thing that broke him last time..."

As if reading Alex's mind, Shiro began to speak again.

"_Enough of this farce,"_ The man said, malice all but nonexistent in his voice. _"Either agree with my terms or don't. Stand beside me or get out of my way. Those are the only two choices here."_

His final ultimatum finally got a rise out of one of the Admirals.

"_Who exactly do you think you are to order us around like this?"_ The Admiral asked. _"Need I remind you that you are at our whims?"_

Subaru heard quite a few different noises around her before looking around. Ed had snorted with disgust and disappointment. Amia had buried her face in her hands as she shook her head. Vita, Alex and Tea had palmed their face at the Admiral's words along with quite a few other Admirals within the inquiry. Shichiro simply sighed as he shook his head. From their reaction, Subaru surmised that what the Admiral had just said was very very bad.

Her suspicions were further realized when a deathly low, almost insane, laughter began coming from the monitor. At first it was so quiet that she could barely hear it. Then it grew louder and louder until the man in white had thrown his head back, his laughter echoing in the halls of the inquiry, as a look of fear spread amongst most of the Admirals

"_I know exactly WHAT I am!"_ Shiro declared as a loud snapping noise could be heard in the halls. A quick look was all Subaru needed to see that there was a tear forming in the man's straightjacket. Before long the tear became big enough that the man's arms had been spoke as he continued to free himself. _"The First of two vassals. The Shield for the late Queen of The Last Sanctuary!" _His hands now free, he placed one on against the barrier, the Anti Magic Field, and shattered it within his grip. _"The one who defeated a creature so unfathomable to your magics, that not even cannons from your mighty warships could even scratch, with a single spell!" _And finally he shattered the glass prison around him. As the shards fell around him he finished his declaration. _"I am Shiro, The White Knight of War. Now stand beside me! Or stand aside!"_

And at that moment, the feed was lost.

"What!" Sakura called out as everyone turned to Ayumi.

"Signal lost," she explained as she typed away at her terminal. "The man is expelling so much energy that it is either blocking the transceiver or it flat out destroyed it."

"So...basically he's flat out threatening them now?" Ed asked and the girl confirmed with a nod. "Well, he's got balls I say. Actually, he always did. It'd take some pretty big ones to go up against the full front of the TSAB."

"You're going to lose yours if you keep on talking about them," Ayumi said with a low growl.

"Please don't..."

"Can you get the feed back?" Vita asked, ignoring the recoiling Enforcer that was clutching his family's legacy for dear life, while holding the urge to do the deed to the man herself.

The hacker pilot shook her head.

"Cousin could only get one inside unnoticed," Ayumi explained. "If this doesn't work then nothing I do can make it work. We just have to wait; either for Cousin to say what happened, or for the video to come back."

But no matter how long they waited, the video feed didn't return. The group probably would have sat there all day had Shichiro not told them that it was close to dinner time and that they should eat something to get their mind off of what might have happened.

* * *

><p>As the group save Shichiro, who had taken up his usual post in the kitchen, ate Shou came up to them, having just returned from wherever the hidden meeting was.<p>

"Did you enjoy the show?" he asked as he pulled up a chair to sit with them.

"We saw what happened up til the point he broke out," Kasumi replied.

"Aww, so you missed the part where they started sputtering and mumbling while he beat the crap out of the guards that came in to try and forcibly restrain him with two blades he created from his blood?"

The entire table looked at him like he was a mad man.

"I'm serious," Shou said, the amusement in his voice vanishing instantly. "He bit his thumb, muttering something about a level 1 blood limiter and the blood seeping out of his thumb became a blade which he used to cut through the guards' armed devices without hurting them...much."

"So?" Vita asked. "What happens now? Where is he?"

"In his room, trying on his uniform," Shou said with a wave of his hand as he sat down next to Kasumi and helped himself to some of her dinner as she was too stunned to react.

"So he's going to help us?" Marika asked.

"Only against the Guardeners," Shiro replied. "Anything else and we're on our own. Though he doesn't mind training anyone if they are interested."

There was a quick scuffle followed by a sound of silverware clanging on the table as Vita finished her food and stood up from the table.

"His room is near the medical ward correct?" she asked.

"That eager, Ma'am?" Alex asked, as Shou nodded his head in confirmation to Vita.

"I want to see if his abilities changed as much as he did," she said, sounding like a teacher wondering whether or not her student had kept up with his studies over a long vacation. Considering that she was one of his trainers so long ago, it wasn't that far of a stretch.

"Ah!" Subaru called out as Vita practically ran out of the cafeteria, leaving her tray of dirty dishes. "Vita-san! You have to clean up!"

"Sakura, Amia, let's go watch!" Marika said as she got up as well, holding her dishes in her hand. "I want to see how veterans fight."

"Oh, that sounds-" Amia said before Shou placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You and Ayumi need to familiarize yourself on the bridge," he said with a soft smile.

"Aww..." she mumbled dejectedly and Ayumi seemed to echo the thought.

"Not fair," the hacker said as she lowered her shoulders, only to blink and open her eyes wide, as if she thought of a way around it.

"Then it's just us Sakura," Marika said as the the two younger girls got up and headed over to the conveyor belt that would accept the trays.

"Should we go too?" Kasumi asked the others.

"Sorry, I got work," Shou said. "Gotta find out how those limiters of his work."

"Aww, but what about the ball buster?"

"Whose?" Ed asked, his head shooting up, looking at Kasumi with worry.

"Okay, seriously, what have you done to him?" Tea asked Ayumi who merely had a small smile on her face.

"I'm still doing it," she replied, with a small giggle that seemed to lower the temperature around the table as Ed got up and bolted to the door, with Ayumi getting up as well as she followed him, almost gliding ominously after him.

"Maybe it's best if we never find out," Subaru suggested and the others nodded their heads in agreement. Somethings are just better left alone.

* * *

><p>As Shiro buttoned up his pure white uniform and straightened out his tie in front of a mirror, he heaved a large sigh.<p>

"I didn't think I'd wear this damned thing ever again," he muttered, glaring at his reflection. There was no love or pride in the uniform. To him it was a scrap of cloth that he was required to wear as part of a compromise, and as a way to go around not wearing his battle gear every waking moment of the day while remaining decent.

His armor and protective robes lied unused on a nearby chair. If he had his way, he would wear them as often as he could. He wore them for so long that they were practically a second skin to him, one that kept him safe form the environment and his enemies.

Perhaps he should just forget about the uniform and just wear his armor instead. Who cares what the others think. They're both the same color and one is more comfortable to him and he wouldn't have to waste time changing for battle. After all, he wasn't using a device anymore.

His musings were interrupted by a pounding on the door.

"I know you're in there!" came a sharp high nasal voice. "Open up!"

Shiro stared at the doorway for a moment, trying to remember who the voice belonged to. Unable to place a face on it, he simply sighed as he opened the door. At first he was confused, as no one was in sight, until something small and red flicked around at the very bottom of his eyesight.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked down and saw that it was the little hair antennae of a girl that barely reached his waist.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his eyes following the movement of the antennae that seemed to have a life of its own.

"I want to have a spar with you," she declared, pointing a finger at his chest, as it would probably look too silly if she tried to point any higher than that.

If it weren't for the fact he could feel the magic she was hiding in her tiny body, if it weren't for the fact that she was a left jab away from his nether regions, he probably would have ignored her, but for some reason, he felt like accepting.

"That's fine," he replied, a small smile appearing on his face. "Where and when?"

"How about right now?" she asked, lowering her hand down to her side.

"That's fine. I am Shiro, currently assisting the Time-Space Administration Bureau as a Contract Mage." He introduced himself, placing his hand over his heart and bowing to the short girl in respect. For some reason, he was continually worried about his lower area, although he can't remember why. Nevertheless, he felt that it would be best not to give her a reason to be angry, no matter how much he wanted to know how a single strand of hair can stand and move like that.

"I am Vita," the tiny red head answered with her own name. "A member of the Aerial Tactical Instructor Corps."

There was a small bit of silence as the man blinked as his memories flooded back into him, and fought with all his might to stop from cupping himself, their first meeting being the first thing that came back into mind.

"I see," he replied, forcing a small smile to hide his unease. "Is there a training ground or something around here? Doubt anyone would be happy if we destroyed something valuable if we get too out of control."

Vita looked a bit amused at the man's words and motioned for him to follow her to the training grounds that she saw Marika and Sakura practice in a few days ago.

Right now, the grounds took the image of a flat grassy plain, leaving no obstruction for either of the two. Vita was in her Guardian Armor while Shiro was wearing the protective one he wore when he first arrived.

"Is that going to be enough?" the Red Knight asked as she stretched her arms.

"Don't worry," the White Knight replied through the filter of his mask. "I'm extremely proficient in barriers, even though they are mostly useless against the Guardeners."

"I suppose someone calling themselves a Shield for a Queen would have to be," Vita thought to herself, not wanting to let the other man know that she had been listening in. "Queen of the Last Sanctuary? I wonder who she is to inspire loyalty from someone like this."

While Vita didn't hate the man, most of her interactions with him besides training were filled with jokes and very flippant attitude, causing her to more often than not, bring down the hammer of karma on him, quite literally most of the time.

"Blood Limiter System Level 1, repose,"Shiro muttered as he removed a glove and bit into his skin, allowing a trickle of blood to fall out before stopping in midair and turning into small hexagonal panels which floated around him. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Vita replied, pointing her hammer at him.

"Then let's begin," Shiro said simply as he held out his own hand where the panels converged and flipped around, creating a rather plain looking sword.

* * *

><p>"That must hurt to do that all the time to fight," Marika noted over the sound of metal clashing against each other and the occasional explosion as she, Sakura, Subaru, Alex, and Tea watched the spar from the viewing station.<p>

"Did he do that before?" Sakura asked, turning to Subaru who blinked a bit before answering.

"Ah...well," Subaru mumbled, trying to remember. "Not until he disappeared. He was still using a device before then. But inside..."

She remembered how her boyfriend had two great wings created from blood sprouting from his back that seeped down onto the floor. It would have been absolutely frightening had she not known it was him.

"He also had those glove devices on all the time remember?" Alex said, unaware of Subaru's thoughts. "I've never actually seen him take them off now that I think about it..."

"That's because they were some kind of Lost Logia that attached themselves to him," Tea provided and Alex replied with a nod.

"Wait, you knew him?" Marika asked, looking at the other four incredulously.

"Only for a little while," Alex said quickly. "While working we were caught up in the middle of a coup on his side and he worked with us to escape it. That was before our side thought it was a good idea to attack him right afterwords, sparking the war."

" Of course, he did attack first," Tea said, not wanting to make it seem that Null Enders was completely blameless. "Though that was because the prisoner we were holding was another traitor to his Empire."

"Does it really matter?" Sakura asked softly. "It's not like he remembers us. Or anything about the subject at all."

* * *

><p>"Why aren't you using that sword?" Vita asked Shiro as the two of them locked their weapons against each other yet again.<p>

"Because it was created to cut through magic," he explained, holding his blade in a reverse grip as his other arm began to bathe in a white light. "I don't know if it would but I don't want to destroy your weapon on accident or on purpose during a spar."

"I guess if it can kill those things in one hit...but you shouldn't underestimate Graf Eisen!"

The two of them broke away from each other as four spheres appeared before Vita as she slammed her hammer into them, launching them at Shiro. He countered by firing a blast of energy from his arm, destroying two of them, throwing his sword into the third and pulling the sword from its sheath to blocked the one that went for his face, splitting it in two as it harmlessly flew past him and crashed into the ground.

"I can't believe that worked..." Shiro mumbled as Vita looked on at him, shocked that he stopped her last attack at the very last second. "I mean...how do you like that?"

"I guess that sword of yours can cut magic after all," Vita said as she lowered her weapon.

"Stop here?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to see if you can hold your own without spilling a gallon of blood."

"Considering I've been fighting every day for the last three years before I came here and I am still alive, I would hope I picked up something."

"Hmm...well, thanks for your time."

"Anytime ma'am."

Placing a hand over his heart, he gave her a bow before turning on his heel and walking toward the base. Indeed, wearing his armor was much more comfortable than a uniform.

As he walked, he took notice that the little crowd they had drawn dispersed as well.

* * *

><p>Shiro sighed as he tossed his breather mask on his desk before flopping down on the bed.<p>

"That was...interesting..." he mumbled. "I thought I had most of my memories...guess I just missed a things like the people."

He buried his face in his hands before a small dark laugh escaped his mouth.

"They're alive...they're all alive. He actually managed to save them...Kaa-san, Oyaji, Shou, Ayumi, Subaru, Sakura...Teana..."

His hands found his hair as he started pulling at it as he started grunting in frustration.

"They're alive...right now is three years after that day...it means they were all saveable! But '_I'm_' not here...that means for them to live '_I'_ had to disappear. What kind of trade is that."

He tossed off the metal breastplate and the top half of his cloak and stared into the mirror.

"So? What are you going to do?" He asked his reflection as it glared back at him. "Are you going to attempt to reclaim it? The life you longed for? The life you killed to get just a glimpse of again? The one where you tried to start a war just to protect?"

Another dark laugh escaped him as slammed his head against the mirror, as he stared at the hundreds of scars across his body, one long scar ran from his shoulder to his heart shined brightly.

"They are not yours to take...not yours to place a shadow over. You had your chance. They are his, not yours. You are to distance yourself from them. You already steeled yourself. To protect the planet that they loved so much at the cost of your own happiness. That was what you swore that night. That was what you swore over their graves."

He sighed as he balled up his fist and punched the wall beside the mirror.

"Six years of fighting...so much pain and loss...I should have been able to throw it all away by now. And just a few seconds of seeing her again completely shatters the resolve. What kind of shield am I? Though...I understand a lot more now than I did three years ago. The Sword might not remember anything about it, but I do...I see now..."

He looked up at the mirror again, he blood red eyes almost shining past his jet black hair.

"Pretty soon the blockade will crumble and the Last Sanctuary will fall. The Legion will return to the Queen and the Sword will seek a new Master. He will come back here as well...until then, I will protect as a shield should...and then...I will disappear..."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Crappy short spar but most of it happened off screen as it wasn't really THAT important. =/

So we have "Shiro" showing that he really remembers more than he lets on and has no intention of reintegrating himself with the others more than necessary. Hurray for verbal and physical beatdowns!

I wonder how things will go from here. Review please!

Oh and please check out **Code Magi Lyrical Rider** if you haven't already. Four way cross between Code Geass, Nanoha A's and Madoka with some Kamen Rider elements thrown in because I'm freaking crazy like that. Have fun~


	11. Chapter 11: Under the Familiar Sky

**Chapter 11: Under the Familiar Sky**

"What?"

"Hmm? What's up?"

"Don't give me that! What is this?"

Shiro had burst into Shou's office fairly early in the morning, causing the other man to be quite confused at what he was doing there.

"I'm not a mind reader Senpai," the younger man said. "You have to tell me what's on your mind that's making it look like you are about to kill something."

"What the hell does 'Visitor's Day' mean?" Shrio spat out, his eyes full of venom.

"Exactly what it means. The base is being opened up for visitors tomorrow. Civilian and personnel from other bases are free to visit for the day. It seems that people are VERY curious about you, so Admiral Lindy Harlaown had asked the captain to do so. Of course, all confidential areas will be guarded and sectioned off."

"And why was I not informed until I saw a poster showcasing me like some celebrity?"

Shou looked shocked at the declaration and held a hand to his chin as his eyes darted around the room in thought before he pounded his palm.

"I forgot. Whoa, look at that eye twitch."

Shiro half wanted to strangle the man in front of him but let his arms drop to his side with a sigh of resignation. It was already decided so nothing he said right now would make a difference. No matter how much he wanted to avoid it.

"What am I expected to do?" he asked, holding his face in his hand.

"Nothing much, just go about your day as usual," Shou answered. "Just be nice if you get asked for pictures. You probably don't want to wear the Armor from the battle so you can choose either to wear your other one or your uniform, whichever you prefer. Oh, and one of Subaru-san's sisters has asked for a favor,"

"Favor? What kind?"

"The sparring kind. Apparently, she has four little apprentices that want to attend some fancy tournament or another for ages ten through nineteen and wants to gauge how far they're getting."

"And so she wants them to fight against someone who just defeated a monster the size of a skyscraper with pretty much one giant spell stronger than standard warship cannons, has no problems in killing people and has problems holding back?"

"Subaru...san's...sister..." Shou answered slowly.

"Ah..." the other man replied nodding his head in understanding.

"But seriously, do be careful will you? You'll be in the presence of royals."

"_Royals_? As in plural?"

"The Sankt Kaiser as well as The Hegemon of Shutra. Oh, but I guess you are one too."

"Funny...what exactly is this tournament?"

"Let me pull it up...here...the Inter Middle Championship."

Shou moved his chair out of the way so Shiro could lean in and read the description as well as look at the list of current participants. When he finished reading the list his eyes narrowed.

"Isn't there something wrong with the list?"

"Really?" Shou took a quick scan himself. "I don't see anything..."

"Look again," Shiro insisted. "It's one of those things that's so obvious that you probably won't realize it until someone points it out."

Shou spent another few minutes carefully examining each contestant before his eyes widened.

"Why the hell are there only girls? Isn't this supposed to be co-ed?" he asked, looking back over the tournament rules.

"Simple, if a boy were to enter this, that means they successfully beat up a bunch of girls, regardless if they were older than them or not." He placed a hand on Shou's shoulder as the two faced each other. "On the other hand...if they lost, that means they were beat up by a girl."

"Ah...there is no victory there in terms of pride..."

"The only reason we don't mind is probably because we are surrounded by women who are stupidly strong and skilled. It wouldn't do for a nineteen year old boy to go all out against a ten year old girl. He would feel horrible regardless if he won or not at some deep level, even if he did consider the girl to be a strong contender."

"Damn double standards."

"Exactly. The only way this would be fair is if they split the two genders and only place them together towards the end. That way the boy and girl would be up against someone they would have no reservations going all out against since going any less would only end up in defeat."

"Is this why you don't like sparring?"

"I don't like sparring against inexperienced people. I have no qualms sparring against someone close to my skill level. It means I can attack without pulling too many punches. I am not stupid to think that men are stronger than women. I served a Queen after all. I know how strong a woman can be on the battlefield where one has to kill to be victorious. In a tournament like this however...speaking of which, what the hell am I going to do about fighting against ten year old kids? Non-military ones at that!"

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Shou said. "We have these little counters that work like HP bars. They'll count the damage someone takes and if they go down below a certain point, the counter will freeze the person in order to keep them from continuing until they are healed."

"But doesn't that put me at a disadva-actually...that's actually a good handicap...since I take damage in order to use my swords anyway."

"Well you'll probably start with 10000 while the other four start with 2000. But don't underestimate them. They are very serious about this so try your best to beat them. Don't pull any punches but don't cause any serious injuries either."

"Can I one shot them?" Shiro asked with a dark gleam in his eye.

"If you can, go for it. Shatter a poor ten year old girl's self-esteem. You're a bloody hero. Who cares about a squad of pre-teens."

"Geez...it was just a joke...maybe..."

"Oh, but I am being completely serious."

"Really?"

"Probably. But when you see who they are, you might change your minds."

Shiro gave one last sigh before rubbing the back of his neck.

"So there is no way I'm getting out of this huh?" he asked.

"Too late for that...oh...before I forget. I've taken the liberty of creating an Armed Device for you, to help control your power. You interested?" Shiro asked as he folded his hands. "That way, you don't have to walk around carrying your armor all the time. Just a quick snap and boom, ready to fight. It'll also increase your magical protection."

"Hmm...I don't know...I've never really used one before, and I prefer to carry my blade with me at all times."

"Hmm...is your sheath special? Like your sword I mean."

"No...but it is important to me."

"Then how about I finalize the design of the device into the sheath? Granted, I've never done something like that before, but I'm sure it will be fine...I mean we got stuffed animals as devices now, how hard can a sheath be?"

Shiro but a hand up to his mouth as he nodded in thought.

"How will I activate it?"

"I'll see if I can't get it to activate once you draw your blade or pose dramatically, whichever you want. I feel like you'd be wanting both however."

Shiro promptly clubbed him with the sheath for his cheek but didn't deny it.

"But what about my Blood Limiter?" Shiro asked as he turned his blade over to Shou for a third time. "I'd rather not be cut off from my stronger spells."

"I'll use a the same system we use for Subaru-san's Omega Drive. It will allow your limiters to supersede the other functions of the device and allow you to change to your...what do you call it?"

"Honestly...I either have no idea or don't remember...I was kind of hoping you could tell me. You seem to know what I don't remember."

Shou grimaced as he set the blade carefully down on his work bench.

"The man _I_ remember personally called his 'Millennium' while the one I...or rather everyone you know...believe _you_ to be called it 'Genesis.'"

"The Beginning, huh? Not a bad name. Let's go with that."

"Alright, I'll get started then." Shou clapped his hands together and started to work but spoke up again before Shiro could leave. "Oh, and a word of advice. I honestly don't think they'd do anything...but please be careful around Marika Lowell and Amia Lee. They are victims of your old life's actions."

"'Lee?' As in Oswald Lee?" Shiro asked as he turned back around.

"You know him?" Shou asked, turning around as well.

"I asked you first," Shiro shot back as Shou's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yeah, her father. He's currently in a mental institute...how do YOU know him?"

"A former subordinate..." Shiro mumbled before exiting the room. As he walked down the hallway he had his hand over his mouth again as he mumbled to himself. "So...he didn't kill her here...I guess some things worked out if others didn't..."

* * *

><p>"Why are we doing this little festival again?" Aoi asked as she headed down the walkway where several of the base personnel had set up stands.<p>

"Because the Admiral is sneaky?" Natahn provided, quickly helping a pair so that the ladder one of them was on didn't tip over. "It's good for relaxation and morale though."

"And even though the Task Force has been put on constant Guardener Watch," Aoi said with a sigh. "Here we are, playing host to some festival..."

"You said that already Ma'am."

"No bureaucratic limitations she said. Full autonomy she said. No orders will be given she said. Why the heck did I agree to this?"

"You're not listening to me are you Ma'am?"

"Lack of security this is...half the guards are putting up stands for food, another fifth are holding games...the most secure base just became the weakest one."

Nathan could only sigh and scratch his head as he continued following his boss as she mumbled her complaints to herself before he was grabbed from behind.

"Amia?" he asked, turning his head around.

"You're coming with me," she said with a sly grin on her face.

"W-why?" he asked her, his face wrought with a cautious fear.

"You need to get fitted."

"Why?"

"For the event."

"No," he said, trying to break out of her grip but she had a firm grip around his arms.

"Either come with me or I'm gonna loosen my lips," she threatened.

"You wouldn't dare...and it's going to be exposed anyway if I do this!"

"Not unless you get caught."

He quickly stepped on her foot, causing her to yelp and loosen her grip allowing him to break free. He barely took two steps before he felt a snag and fell flat on his face.

"What?" he turned around and saw a rope was tied to his foot with the other end floating in midair and invisible.

"Yay!" came a familiar high voice. "I got the spell to work!"

"Good job Marika!" Amia said, rubbing her foot as Marika appeared beside her.

"How?"

"Miss Teana showed me how!" she said proudly. "It's called Optic Hide!"

"All right, enough of this," Amia said as she tied another rope to his other leg. "Time to go!"

The girls began to drag him across the path back to the base as Nathan tried to grab anything he could to stop them, even throwing glances that screamed "Help me damn it!" to the other members of Shadow but they were finding the scene to amusing to do anything.

Even Aoi had disappeared, too caught up in her rant to notice he was no longer there.

There was only one thing left for him to say...

"Nooooooooooooo!"

* * *

><p>"Is that him?"<p>

"Of course...no other uniform is pure white..."

Shiro scowled as he walked down the hallway, trying to ignore the whispering around him. Honestly, it was like people thought he was deaf. Still, it was better than having people fear him to the point they wouldn't even breathe in his presence.

"Oh there he is! Hey White!"

On the other hand...the silence wasn't so bad...

An arm clasped around his neck and pulled him over to its owner.

"Been looking all over for you, White," said the man. Unlike most of the people in this base, the man wore a black uniform, indicating that he wasn't part of the normal forces. Searching past the memories of death and battle, he tried to put the man's face to a name.

"White?" Shiro repeated.

"Yeah, it's your nickname buddy."

"Do I know you well enough for a nickname?"

He saw the man's mouth twitch slightly before he gave a small sigh and stepped back from him and extended his hand in greeting.

"Right, forgot about that. The name's Edward. Edward Kaufman. Nice to meet you."

There it was. The memory of a man dropping down from a shuttle after accidentally knocking their comrade out. The memory of the man sitting on a couch...his throat slit...

"I see," Shiro replied, holding in any and all signs of emotion and recognition as he took Ed's hand. "Nice to meet you. You said you were looking for me?"

"Yeah. Since you're going to be working with us now, let's get go bond over some food."

"Excuse me?"

"You've been taking your meals inside your room haven't you? That's no good. Since you asked us to stand beside you, that means we got to get to know each other so we can watch each others' back on the field. You know, find out strengths and weaknesses so we can cover them."

"But over food?"

"Hey, when you gotta eat, you gotta eat," Ed replied patting his stomach.

"I don't see why not," Shiro said with a shrug. He wasn't really hungry but he'd been living off of dried meat and vegetables and distilled acid rain for three years. Tasting a real cooked meal was too tempting for him, even if he's to the point where he only needs to eat a little bit to function.

"Yo, Alex! Why don't you join us?"

Shiro turned toward Ed's face to see that he was looking behind them. Turning around, he saw Alexander Dalton standing there, confused as to why he was called out.

"What was that?" Alex called back.

"You wanna go eat?" Ed repeated his offer. "Got our special guest to join us."

"Why not?" answered Alex as he glanced at his watch. He quickly jogged up to them and introduced himself with a salute. "Sergeant Alexander Dalton of the Autonomous 501st Task Force."

"A pleasure to be working with you," Shiro said as he nodded in reply.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, let's head to the cafeteria," Ed said as he clapped his hands before wrapping his arm around Shiro's neck again.

However, the three differently colored uniformed men barely walked five steps before they heard a commotion in the room beside them.

"What's going on?" Shiro asked.

"That's one of the costume rooms," Alex said. "I guess someone is having an argument?"

"Sounds like girls trying on dresses," Ed mused, wondering if he should risk planting an ear against the door.

"Do it and I'll tell Ayumi-san," Alex said with a small smile as Ed jerked away from the door, holding his hands up in surrender. Not a moment too soon, as the door opened and out came a girl, dressed in a deep purple gown like that of an aristocrat.

The three of them just stared at her and she stared back before someone called out from inside the costume room.

"Damn it Nathan, stop trying to run...oh my..."

"What is it Ami-oops..."

Amia and Marika's head popped out of the door and they stared at the men in a mixture of embarrassment and amusement before dragging the now red face "woman" back into the room by "her" legs.

As the door closed, the men simply exchanged glances and continued walking down the corridor completely unperturbed until they turned the corner where they immediately broke down.

The one in black was on the ground, banging one hand on the floor with the other clutched around his side in loud laughter. The one in green was more composed as he rested a hand on the wall to support himself as he tried desperately to breathe in between chuckles. The one in white had one arm around his side and one over his eyes as his shoulders shook from silent laughter.

"I'm gonna...I'm gonna...help I...I can't...I can't breathe!" Ed said as he rolled onto his back trying to speak.

"Deep breaths Ed! Deep...breaths! Pft..." Alex tried to calm his friend down but was overcome with laughter again.

"I thought he had more control than that..." Shiro mumbled as he shook his head, still trying to calm himself down. "Didn't think the Captain's assistant would be into cross-dressing..."

The three of them looked at each other again before losing control again. Yes, that was one ice breaker that the trio was glad to have. Even if it was at the expense of Nathan's pride and manhood.

* * *

><p>"So? What did you want to talk about?" Shiro asked as the three sat around a round table with a large pizza in between them. Ed was wolfing down his slices while Alex shot him exasperated looks in between his and Shiro was eating slowly, savoring each bite.<p>

"Well, we were hoping to get to know you a bit more," Ed said honestly as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Being mysterious is fine and all especially when you shown yourself to be dedicated to fighting those things, but it doesn't mean you have to do it alone."

"It is not like I fight alone on purpose," Shiro said shrugging his shoulders. "Though I used to fight in a pair, the reason I prefer to fight alone is because no one else can keep up."

"A pair?" Alex repeated.

"Of course. If I am a shield so there must be a sword as well."

The two TSAB mages shared a glance.

"_You think that could be Yuu?" _Ed asked via telepathy as he turned back to his food.

"_I don't think there could be anyone else that could really keep up with him...other than the Aces of course,_" Alex added as an afterthought.

"_From what little we saw with our own eyes three years ago...I'm not too sure about that...I mean...even without that 'final form' of his he beat us in his own time remember?_"

For some reason, Alex felt his arms tense, like they were going to fall off if he wasn't careful.

"Something up? The two of you are quiet all of a sudden," Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Trying to wrap my head around that there is another crazy guy like you running around out there," Ed said dismissively, waving his hand as he did so.

"Hmm...is that so?" Shiro asked but didn't press the matter as the trio continued their meal and chatted about each other.

* * *

><p>Sakura sat on the edge of the curb, her arms wrapped around her knees, her eyes staring unfocused at the bustling city. Although the moon was high above her head, the sounds of people running around and construction were still going on behind her back at the base. She didn't even turn her head as someone walked up to her and sat down beside her.<p>

"I think the expression is: 'Penny for your thoughts?'" Subaru asked as she turned toward the younger girl. "What's wrong?"

"I feel like an idiot," Sakura said softly. "I want to hate him for everything he did...for al the lives he ruined...but I just can't..."

"It's probably because he's your brother after all, no matter how much we refuse to admit it."

Sakura only nodded her head in reply and remained silent as Subaru placed an arm around her and pulled her close.

"And there was something that got me thinking lately," Subaru said, causing the younger girl to jerk her head up and stare at her incredulously. "Oh not you too..."

"Sorry," Sakura mumbled trying not to smile. "What is it?"

"Do you remember what Asakura-san said back then, when she was talking about her history? Remember how she said that Yuu-kun died this year?" Sakura nodded slowly. "Don't you think it's weird that the same year he died is the same year we encounter the Guardeners? And then he comes back two years later leading an army that doesn't use magic based weaponry?"

Sakura simply stared wide-eyed at Subaru for a few moments as she took the implications in.

"Was that Shou-san's hypothesis?" Sakura asked.

"Oh come on, you can't accept that it was mine?" Subaru pouted, at the same time turning her gaze away from Sakura. "But...it was your mom's actually..."

"I see..."

"Makes a lot of sense though, doesn't it?" Subaru asked as Sakura nodded again. "Shou-kun also thinks that he probably encountered them then as well but felt the TSAB couldn't protect itself. So he faked his own death...or he really did die and became a Mirage himself, it would explain his hatred for them. But it doesn't explain where he found his army..."

"Do you think it has something to do with the Mariages?" Sakura asked. She then giggled a bit before saying, "Ancient evils sprouting up centuries in the future seems to happen a lot doesn't it?"

"I think it's to balance the evil of the future coming back," said Subaru as she smiled wrly. "Though he was more insane than evil..." she added before shaking her head to clear it. "Anyway, you feeling better now?"

"Yeah...I was just being an idiot..." replied Sakura as she wiped her eyes with her hands.

"Ahaha, I know how that feels. Come on, lets head back inside...ow..."

"Onee-chan?"

Subaru had suddenly ran a hand over her chest and started rubbing the area over her heart.

"Sorry, it's just a little heartburn..." She said.

"What did you eat?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well...when I walked around the stands to see if anyone needed help they kinda...gave me free samples..."

"Everyone? You mean you ate a little of EVERYTHING!"

"W-well, just from the ones that already finished setting up. Besides, it would be rude to turn down their generosity wouldn't it?"

"How big were the samples?"

"Uh...generous?"

Sakura could only sigh at her friend's habits. She ran her eyes over the older girl's figure, wondering just where all the food was going.

"Well at least go to Shou-san for some medicine...and don't even think of getting any free samples tomorrow! At least pay them!"

The girls continued their conversation as they headed back to the base.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the base was in high spirits as the festival managed to bring in a large crowd. The smell of fried foods, the chimes of the games, the laughter of the festival goers. The day was bright and it was the perfect day for a festival.<p>

Sakura, Marika and Subaru were waiting at the entrance for a certain bus to arrive.

"I think that's them now," Marika said, pointing out a white bus that was pulling up on the other side of the street. A group of five girls stepped out, being lead by a tall red head. Her hair was short, just stopping at the base of neck and her eyes were narrower and more fierce than her cyborg sister's but nonetheless one can easily see the family resemblance between the two.

Around her were four other girls around Sakura and Marika's age or younger. One had dark purple hair that extended to her shoulders but two side locks that extended all the way down to her chest and had a yellow ribbon on the top of her head. Another had light brown hair in twin tails stretching down to her waist tied by two white and blue striped hair bands.

The third had bright waist long blonde hair with a scrunchie holding a bit of her hair up on the left side of her head. Her eyes were also two different colors, left was red and right was green. There also seems to be a little white stuffed rabbit floating next to her head.

The last one also had waist long hair. It was almost pure silver but it had a greenish tint to it. She had it tied in a bun on the back of her head with a ponytail extending from it as well as another one extending from the left side of her head. Like the other girl, she has heterochromia with a right purple eye and a blue left one.

"They sure stand out in those tracksuits," Sakura noted. "But I don't recognize that last girl."

"Oh, that's Einhart Startos," Subaru explained. "She's a year younger than you but she's also pretty strong from what Nove told me. She's also a descendant of The Hegemon of Shutra."

"Why are all these ancient nobles popping back up all of a sudden?" Sakura mumbled under her breath with a sigh as Subaru called out to the group.

"Looks like you got here okay," Subaru said as Nove led the younger girls toward the gates.

"The ride was long as hell though," Nove said as she massaged her neck.

"Sakura-chan, Marika-chan! It's been a while!" the blonde greeted the two younger girls.

"Yes it has," Marika replied nodding. "Have you all been doing well with your studies and training? I guess...not?" she added as the smiles of two the girls dropped quickly.

"Oh, training is going fine," The twin tail said with a smile. But Vivio-san's and Rio-san's studies aren't doing so well."

"Who cares about studies today, Corona!" the short haired girl shouted thrusting both arms into the air. "It's a festival! Forget about the books!"

"Umm...is the man who defeated that monster really here?" the green haired asked softly

"Hmm? Yeah he is," Sakura replied with a nod. "We asked him to come with us to greet you guys but he said he wanted to take a look around first. By the way, I'm Kimura Sakura, and this is Marika Lowell." She indicated her fellow Returner. "It's nice to meet you, Einhart."

"Nice to meet you," Marika repeated with a nod.

"Yes, please take care of me," Einhart replied bowing her head.

"Now that that's settled, let's head in and grab some lunch!" Subaru said pumping her fist into the air. "We might see Shiro-san along the way too."

"Yeah!" came the reply as they entered the festival grounds.

* * *

><p>"I...think we should step away from the games for a bit," Subaru said with a small laugh as each of the girls were carrying large stuffed animals, having won first place at whatever game they tried playing.<p>

"Yeah, let some of the other kids try to win something," Nove agreed as she munched on a chocolate banana. "Hmm? What's going on over there?"

"That's the center stage," Sakura explained as she looked past her stuffed elephant. On the stage was a woman dressed in a purple gown as she hosted a series of games, the current one being limbo. "Though I don't recognize the MC."

"Okay!" The woman's voice carried through the entire festival grounds with the help of the speakers floating around. "The next round of Natalie's No Stake Game is limbo! First place is two tickets to a hot spring resort! Losers getthe consolation package and leave behind a bit of their dignity on stage! So? Who wants to take the challenge?"

"Hmm...she really seems familiar," Subaru said as the group got closer to the stage.

"You really don't recognize that person?" Marika asked, her lips twitching. "Amia did a better job than I initially thought...she did the make up and costume."

"That looks kind of fun," Rio noted watching the first contestant get past the bar with ease.

"But you all are so short that all you need to do is walk under it," Nove said patting Rio on the head and the girl immediately rounded on her trainer and started arguing with her as Subaru and Sakura continued to stare at Natalie.

"I know I've seen her somewhere before..." Subaru said before both girls' eyes widened in shock. "Oh...my...god..."

"How...?" Sakura gasped as she turned to Marika who was clutching her sides, and stiffling her laughter.

"This is the 'dress incident' remember?" Marika asked before breaking out into giggles.

"Um...what's so funny?" Vivio asked, looking at the three of them.

"That woman is a man," Einhart said softly causing her friends to round around to her in shock. But the girl simply pointed toward 'Natalie's' neck. "You can see his adam's apple."

"I guess we should have gave him a choker to wear," Marika said tilting her head to the side, as the other girls just gaped at the MC.

* * *

><p>"Good work there, 'Natalie,'" Shiro said as he tossed the MC a water bottle as they came back stage for a break.<p>

"Oh shut up," a decidedly masculine voice replied as "Natalie" took a drink. "What are you doing back here anyway? It's staff only."

"Seen everything already," Shiro replied, nudging his head to a stack of food he had bought from the stands. "Want some?"

"No thanks."

"You know," Shiro said as he opened a box of takoyaki. "A lot of people are saying that they rarely ever see you eat. And whenever you do you barely eat anything at all. If you don't mind me asking, is there a reason for it?"

"Not really," Nathan said after he removed his wig and replaced his glasses. "Long story short, I can't stomach any kind of food except for specialized block supplements. I only 'eat' to keep up appearances, forcing my body to expel them later."

"Ouch," Shiro mumbled, his voice filled with sympathy. "Must be rough."

"Well, I can still taste it so it's not like forcing sand down my throat. I just have to make sure to be near a trash can or bathroom before I expel it."

"Expel being the polite word for 'vomit' I guess," Shiro mused to himself just as the door opened up as Amia walked in.

"Yo! I brought you some lunch!" She said with a smile on her face as Nathan paled at the size of the bento box. Seeing the man in trouble, Shiro decided to help out.

"Sorry but we just ate," Shiro said gesturing his pile of empty boxes in the center of the table. Nathan shot him a look of relief as Amia's face fell. "Why not just leave it here so he could eat it later? Don't want all that hard work to go to waste right?"

Amia bit her lip before looking down at her homemade lunch and sighed.

"Alright," she said dejectedly. "Can you make sure he eats it?"

"I'll try," Shiro said as Nathan rolled his eyes.

"I guess that's as good of an assurance as I'll get huh?" Amai asked glancing at Nathan who was looking at the bento box with an unreadable expression. "See ya."

After making sure she was long gone, Shiro walked over to the bento box and opened it up.

"Damn, this is quite a spread," he said as he placed the top to the side. "Why haven't you told her that you can't eat?"

"I did," Nathan said with a sigh as he stood up and looked inside at the food. "But she thought it was an excuse for me not to eat her cooking. So, I've been forced to eat whatever she makes. Good thing it's delicious so it isn't all that bad. Thanks for the cover by the way."

"No problem...you mind if I..."

"Go ahead. My apologies to her but there's no way I'm going to eat that. I'd be spending an hour getting rid of it later if I did."

"Damn...holy...this is really good..." Shiro said nodding his head in satisfaction. "Why not taste it and then spit it out?"

"I'd be tempted to eat the whole thing then," Nathan replied shaking his head sadly. "Well..." Nathan said as he placed the wig back on his head and rubbed his neck as his voice chainged to a feminine one again. "Time for the next event. There's an hour before your little exhibition match, so you should prepare as well."

"Right...gotta go pick up my device."

* * *

><p>The hour past by quickly and with ten minutes left until the exhibition match, "Natalia" decided to make an announcement.<p>

"All right everyone!" he called out. "There's only ten more minutes until a special exhibition match between The White Knight and his challengers! We will be showing the match on the screen behind me, but you will be able to see the action if you tune to the frequency displayed on the screen right now if you have a device. So finish up those games, grab a snack and get ready for some action!"

The cheering could be heard all the way in the changing room as the girls were busy preparing for the match.

"They're really making a show of this aren't they?" Nove asked as she looked at a viewing screen inside the room which was depicting the four Hilde Academy girls on one side of the screen with a giant "VS" in the center and a masked figure on the right side.

"In the end we didn't see him at all," Vivio said as she and Einhart were helping each other stretch. "I wanted to ask him some questions."

"With all the people looking for him he's probably trying to avoid the crowds," Corona noted. "Maybe we can ask him things after the match."

"I wonder how tough he'll be," Rio wondered enthusiastically.

"But he probably won't use his full power will he," Einhart asked.

"I hope not! Did you see how big that sword was?" Rio asked. "It was bigger than the monster it blew up! What do you think will happen if he used it on us?"

"Well, just do your best and be happy with the outcome," Nove said as she patted Einhart on the shoulder. "Hit him with everything you got."

Then there was a knock on the door as Subaru poked her head in.

"We're ready for you out there," she said.

"Good luck out there," Nove said pushing the girls out as she followed Subaru to the training ground's watch room where Shou was already there setting up the battle stage, which was a battle worn city.

"Welcome to the Danger Room, Miss Nove Nakajima," Shou said as he spread his arms out, causing multiple screens to appear around them. "From here we can watch the battle in which ever direction and viewing angle you'd like. I'll also be transmitting the screen that shows the most action to the main screen back at the festival."

"Quite the setup you got here," Nove nodded approvingly. "So where is the guy?"

Shou simply spun around so that he was facing his console as he held his right hand under a screen to his right showing a man in a pure white TSAB uniform with his hands at his side, holding a sheathed blade in his left hand.

"Is that him? He sure gives off an aura of power," Nove noted as two other people came into the room.

"Did it start?" Sakura asked, as she and Marika tried to catch their breaths.

"The girls are heading onto the field now," Shou said looking at the screen to his left.

At the same time, Nathan's feminine voice can be heard throughout the speakers.

"**And now the fighters have all entered the stage!"** He called out as Nove shook her head.

"How the hell can that MC be a man?" she asked completely bewildered.

"He has a lot of skills," Marika replied. "Infiltration and disguise seems to be one of them."

"**On the west corner, we have four friends from The St. Hilde Academy of Magic! Einhart Stratos! Takamachi Vivio! Corona Timil! And Rio Wesley!"**

* * *

><p>A camera had appeared in front of the girls as Nathan called out their names as all of them waved when their name was called except for Einhart who merely nodded.<p>

"**Mses. Vivio and Einhart will be fighting with 3000 hit points each while Miss Rio will have 2800 and Corona will have to make due with 2500! And on the east corner, we have The White Knight that took down that monster that threatened to level our city! Shiro!"**

Shiro also nodded toward the camera as his name was called.

"**He will be fighting with a whopping 10000 hit points! And as a reminder, if you fall under 100 hit points you will be immobilized in order to make sure you don't receive too many injuries! Now will the fighters please don their respective Jackets or Armors!"**

"""" _Standby Ready!_ """" the four girls' devices called out as they were enveloped in four different colored lights, revealing three much older girls in their place, except for Corona.

"And the St Hilde girls are in forms fitting of their power! Even The White Knight is struck speechless!" Nathan said over the gasps of the crowd.

Indeed, the man was gaping and blinking stupidly at the sight in front of him. Three of the girls looked like they just aged six years in a flash. Raising a hand horizontally over his chest and moving it up to his eyes repeatedly as if trying to figure out what just happened. He quickly shook his head as he held his blade in front of him and took a deep breath.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this..." he muttered to himself before looking straight forward and calling out, "Henshin!"

He slammed his blade against his belt, where it locked into place, and pulled it to the left side of his body as the belt called out, "_Rise up, Meister!_"

He then crossed his arms, as hexagonal panels covered his body, before flipping around one by one, and then shattering when they all flipped, revealing his usual cloaked form.

"Damn it Aizawa...Kamen Rider...really?" he mumbled shaking his head, ignoring the cheering and commentary from the speakers.

* * *

><p>Back up in the control room, Shou was doubled over in laughter again.<p>

"Is it another inside joke?" Subaru asked as Sakura smacked the back of Shou's head.

"Ow! Come on now, let me have some fun," the eccentric doctor replied.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Let's start the countdown! 3! 2 ! 1! GO!"<strong>

Immediately, Vivio and Einhart rushed toward the Knight who turned to the right and broke into a run down the street.

"It looks like the girls are attempting to rush the Knight right at the start!" Nathan continued his commentary. **"However, he's managing to keep his distance as he pulls away from them. Is he looking for a better vantage point?"**

"Damn it Duel, don't announce my plans," Shiro cursed under his breath as he spun around quickly, causing his feet to slide a bit as he placed a hand over his sheath.

"_Blade out!_" his device called as his special sword released itself from its sheath slightly allowing him to prick himself against the edge, spilling some blood, taking 50 damage.

"**And Shiro intentionally runs his finger along the edge of his blade! What is he doing?"**

Shiro chose to answer by swinging his hand outward, causing the blood to fly out in a line, stopping in mid air in a line, forming a blade in his right hand.

"Let's do this!" he said as the two girls charged him.

"_Sonic Wave_!" his device called out as he swung his sword, sending a large shock wave at the girls who dodged to the side, unharmed. He then immediately did the same to the building next to him, except in a zigzag pattern, causing a deep cut on the side of the building, allowing him to jump up the building using the newly created edges.

"He's fast," Einhart said as she and Vivio watched him disappear over the rooftop.

"Corona-chan, can you get Rio-chan up there?" Vivio asked her teammate over a video communication screen.

"Leave it to me," Corona replied as she summoned her golem.

"W-wait, what are you going to do?" Rio asked as she took a step away from her friend.

"Goliath is going to throw you up there, Rio-san," Corona replied with a smile as Rio started to whimper as the giant rock golem bent down towards her.

Back up on the roof, Shiro had created six daggers and had them in the gaps between his fingers except for his thumb.

"_Sensor Blade creation complete, Meister_," the device reported.

"Good," Shiro acknowledged with a nod. "Launching to directed points n-"

He was cut off by the sound of someone screaming. He looked over to his left and saw the girl in the pink cheongasm style Barrier Jacket flying up past the building he was on. His eyes tracked her soaring body until it landed on the building to the right.

"Are they taking this seriously?" he wondered as the girl started shouting at her teammate. "Whatever. Launching Sensor Blades!"

He tossed the daggers into the air where they hovered a bit before shooting off in different directions as Rio hopped over to his building as two large streams of magical shot out from behind her, taking the forms of serpentine dragons.

"Enryuu! Rairyuu!" she called out as the two dragons lunged at him.

"Dual elements?" Shiro called out as he leap into the air to dodge the flame dragon, which grazed his leg for 300 damage. He then quickly drew his sheathed blade with his left hand and blocked the lightning dragon, which collided with it. He then swung the sword upward causing it to dissipate immediately.

"Eh? Wait what?" Rio asked completely shocked to see her attack be completely nullified.

"So I can nullify it," Shiro said running his finger on the side of his blade. "Good to know."

The blood panels swooped around his right hand, creating another sword as he rushed toward Rio who snapped out of her shock and blocked his dual swings, taking only 200 points of damage as she jumped back.

"Um guys? I need a little help here!" Rio called out as Shiro tried to attack again, only to be stopped by a burst of rainbow colored magic, forcing him backward with 100 points of damage.

"Damn, I'm at 9550 now," Shiro grunted as he landed back on the roof as Vivio landed in front of him. "I should have sent another attack behind me to clear the stepping stones."

"_City grid established. Data is complete, Meister,_"His device reported.

"All right, then let's take this fight somewhere more advantageous to us," Shiro shouted as he tossed his plain sword up into the air, before breaking into a run in the opposite direction flipping his other blade around and returning it to its sheath

"Hey wait a minute!" Vivio called out as she chased after him. "Get back here!"

Shiro ignored her as he eyed his target, a section of a wall that was casting a shadow. When he reached his desired speed, he dived while spinning around to see Vivio preparing a shooting spell. Reaching behind his waist he pulled out a small gun and wrapped his finger around the trigger.

"Shoot," he said as a white bolt flew out from the gun just as Vivio punched the rainbow ball of mana in front of her. The bolt flew over the ball and hit the girl in the forehead for 100 damage just as Shiro disappeared in the shadow and the ball smashed the wall after him.

"Ouchie," Vivio mumbled rubbing her forehead. "For someone who's supposed to be strong, he sure is running a lot."

"Where did he go?" Rio asked as she caught up to Vivio.

"Vivio-san, Rio-san," Einhart called out. "It looks like he's under the western bridge. Corona-san and I are heading there now."

"" Hey! Wait for us! ""

But before they could take two steps, something landed behind them. They turned around to see the sword that Shiro had tossed up earlier during his escape had embedded itself into the roof, with an eerie beeping noise.

Under the bridge Shiro was catching his breath.

"That was too damn close...any slower and my legs would have been separated from my body," he mumbled as he got to his feet after patting down his legs. "Damn portal cuts..."

The sound of an explosion broke him from his musings.

"Humph, I wonder if that got anyone...tch!"

He turned around and thrust his hand forward, creating a white hexagonal shield as a silvery green beam crashed into it.

"Caught up to me already, huh?" he asked as the shooter rushed toward him.

"_Fist on!_"

Several small blood panels appeared around his hands before spinning around to reveal two steel gauntlets encasing his hand. He smashed them together before raising them up to block Einhart's kick, before sweeping his leg up to counter.

"There's no doubt that you are strong," Einhart said as her counter lessened by 100 points while Shiro's lowered by another 200. "So why do you keep on running?"

"When facing four opponents with great skill, only an idiot fights head on," Shiro replied as he ducked her kick, grabbing her leg as it went passed and hurled her out from the shade. He then ran his other four fingers of his left hand against the edge of his blade again, taking another 200 damage leaving him with 9150 hit points. "A knight should not be limited by his honor or pride. There is only victory!"

Five blades appeared around him before disappearing into the ground before reappearing from the bridge's underside and sink into the ground again.

"The basic laws of physics," Shiro said as he took a step out from under the shade as the blades were reaching frightening speeds. "Speedy thing goes in..." He spread his arms out as if he was shrugging his shoulders. "Speedy thing...goes out."

A black portal appeared on his chest as a blade shot out at Einhart, who dodged it, only to see the sword disappear in the shade of the building behind her and reappear, dropping at fast speeds, under the bridge again.

"I may dress in pure white, but it is in the darkness where my powers are at their strongest. Let us continue then," Shiro said as he folded his arm behind his waist and had a hand over his heart in a bow as a shadow spread across the area. "Descendant of the Hegemon."

"Is this another part of his plan?" Einhart thought as she looked at him, only to see his head jerk up in surprise as he looked up, causing her to look up herself...to see a giant golem fall down towards him.

With a loud crash, Goliath landed on the same spot where Shiro was moments earlier.

"Did we get him?" Corona asked.

"_Don't think so,_" her device, Brunzel, replied.

"Aww, we were so-kyah!"

Corona let out a loud cry as two blades crashed through Goliath's legs before sticking embedding themselves under the golem's arms, causing it to topple over.

"Damn that was dangerous!" Shiro shouted as he reappeared under the bridge, shaking his arms in pain as his hit point counter lowered another 1000. "I really need to cut down on the dramatics. Erupt!"

The blades on the golem exploded, sending stone and steel scattering across the area, several of them crashing harmlessly into the barrier in front of Shiro, whereas Corona was caught in the epicenter for 2000 damage and Einhart took 500 from the debris.

Before the dust could clear, Einhart moved by instinct by throwing her body to the ground as another blade flew past her, missing her hair by scant inches. She then forced herself up and backwards as a blade came flying out of her own shadow underneath her, grazing her chin for 100 damage.

"Ahhh...Goliath was completely shattered!" Corona cried as she tried to balance herself on her feet, her Barrier Jacket torn in multiple places. "Vivio-san! Rio-san! Where are you?"

As if on cue, two mana dragons came crashing through the bridge. Shiro was forced to dive away from the rubble, as the two dragons chased after him.

"Get back here darn it!" Rio shouted as she and her dragons chased after him.

"Excuse me, Miss Timil," Shiro said as he grabbed the younger girl by her shoulders. "I need to borrow your body for a second."

"Huh? Wait what are you-?" She asked as Shiro tossed her toward the dragons. "Kyaaah!"

"Uwah! Corona!"

Rio forced her dragons away from Corona as she spread her arms out to try and catch her friend only to blink as a white blur appeared in front of her. Shiro pounded his fist into his palm before throwing a punch with his armored right hand at Rio's head, knocking her back just in time for Corona to crash into her, giving Corona another 100 damage and Rio 700 damage.

"Ouch...stop playing dirty darn it!" Rio shouted as the man skidded to a halt and turned around, brushing his hands.

"See that's one disadvantage with having allies," the man said holding a finger up. "You got to watch for friendly fi-urgh!"

He was cut off as a silver green foot caught his chin, sending him up with 700 damage followed by a rainbow colored fist colliding with the side of his head, sending him flying into the rubble for another 1000 damage.

"But having friends also keeps the enemy's attention off of you," Vivio said pumping both her arms. "That was for the exploding sword!"

"Ouch...those girls can really throw a punch..." Shiro muttered as he cracked his neck back into place and pushed some of the rubble off of him.

"**Amazing!"** Nathan voice rang out through the speakers now that there was a momentary pause in the battle. **"Both sides are giving their all and the hit point counters are almost even now! The current amounts are Miss Timil with 400, Miss Wesley with 900, Miss Takamachi with 1900, Miss Stratos with 2300 and Shiro with 6450! Although Shiro's power and ingenuity is impressive, are the numbers proving too much for him?"**

"Hardly," Shiro huffed. "I'm giving just as much as I'm getting."

He pulled himself out of the rubble as he made a show of dusting off his hands again as an extremely furious Corona created another Goliath at impressive speed.

"Goliath! Purge Blast!" She shouted as the golem placed a hand on its arm and pointed its fist straight at Shiro who tilted his head to the side in wonder. "ROCKET PUNCH!"

"WHAT!" Shiro screamed as a spinning fist flew straight at his face. He backtracked as fast and far as he could before leaping into the air and gently latched himself to the fist. As he began to spin with the fist he fired a white beam at the building they were heading toward, but it didn't do anything more than put a dent in it, before crashing into it himself.

"Wow...you must have been really mad, Corona-chan," Vivio said, as the building collapsed around him.

Whatever Corona was going to say was cut off by the sound of rocks cracking. Shiro had reappeared under Goliath using its shadow, holding his magic nullifying sword in one hand as he spun like a drill through the rock golem, stopping only kick Corona in the back of the head, sending the girl flying off her golem, knocking her out.

"Argh...what moron thought that everything was better with spinning?" Shiro asked as he stabbed his sword into the ground, holding his head with his free hand as he tried to stabilize himself. Luckily he lost his balance as Einhart tried to throw a kick at his head, causing her leg to miss him by a good foot.

"Ah, to hell with this!" he said as he pulled his damaged mask off and tossed it to the side. "Could barely breathe in that thing anyway."

His hood had also been torn to shreds as had most of his cloak. The breastplate he had had a large crack in the center and his body, save for his face, was covered in dust and plaster.

"**In a magnificent turnabout, Shiro has managed to take out Miss Timil but he has also taken 2000 points of damage from her attack, putting him at an extreme disadvantage!"**

"Well, no more fooling around," Shiro said as he dusted his hands before returning his blade to its sheath and pounded his gauntlets together before urging the girls with two fingers. "Come on."

Both Vivio and Einhart moved at once, both deciding to try to ax kick him but he raised both his arms over his head to block, but still took 100 damage, before opening his palms so that they were facing the girls and fired a basic shooting spell at the two of them, forcing them back as well as dealing 200 damage each.

With him distracted, Rio had managed to conjure up two more dragons and sent them towards Shiro again, who started jumping backwards to get some distance, while at the same time started to gather his energy into his gauntlets. The dragons were relentless in their pursuit, crashing through everything, from walls, to lamp posts, to entire buildings in their attempt to catch him.

"_Sword Out! Sword Create!_" the sword device called as Shiro's blade extended out from the sheath as he grabbed it with his left hand while another blade formed in his right hand.

"Null Void! Cyclone Branding!" Shiro shouted as he tossed both blades at the dragons. The magic nullifying blade hitting the lightning dragon, dissipating it while the other blade had enveloped the flame on within its massive tornado, creating something akin to a massive spiral pillar of flame.

"Whoa whoa wait a minute!" Rio screamed as she started to run. "Don't come after me!"

"Well...that worked quite differently than I had expected," Shiro mumbled as the fire tornado burned its way through concrete and steel as it chased Rio down the street. "Though the effect is a welcomed distraction."

"You seem to be stopping and observing what your magic does a lot of the time," Einhart said right after she tried to kick him, leaving a small crater where Shiro was seconds before.

"Can't help it," the man replied landing back on his feet. "It's been three years since I used them like this after all. Why would I waste my energy casting spells when only the strongest ones would defeat my enemies when I could produce the same effect with enhancement magic coupled with my blades instead? Not every idiot goes straight to the point with maximum power and complete destruction."

"Hey!" Vivio called out as she rushed toward him. "It's a legitimate strategy!"

"And speaking of legitimate strategies," Shiro began as he dodged and parried Vivio's attacks. "The tornado is come back this way."

"Huh?" Vivio turned around only to see an empty street with the fire storm far far away only to feel something crash against her head, sending her flailing to the ground, her counter losing another 300 points.

"Really? The 'look what's that' actually works?" Shiro said, completely amused at the result of his cheap shot. "That Rio girl sure can run though...I wonder what will run out first? The tornado's magic or her stamina?"

He then raised his arms to the side of his head as Einhart's leg made contact, causing his feet to slide across the street.

"Why don't you just fight head on?" Einhart asked.

"Because only an idiot fights head on when he's outnumbered," repeated Shiro. "And I was never a person who fights head to head. If it makes you feel any better, consider the explosives my allies' attacks. And besides, it's been three years since I fought without the objective being to kill my opponent. I'm entitled to a little fun."

"What kind of knight are you?"

"The kind that survives and achieves victory for his master."

"_Fist off! Sword create!_"

The gauntlets shattered into multiple red hexagonal panels before lining up in front of Shiro before all flipping over revealing a large two-handed sword. The blade was as tall as he was and about a foot wide as was the handle of the blade. Gripping the blade in one hand, he ran forward, bringing it down like a club with the flat side of the blade as Einhart dodged to the side. Shiro then spun the blade in a full circle forcing Einhart and Vivio, who had tried to get back into the fight, to dodge by jumping up into the air.

The two of them landed side by side before rushing him again. Einhart threw the first punch when she got close, but Shiro blocked with the flat side of his blade. He then released it when Vivio tried to kick him and grabbed her leg and threw her aside as Einhart went around his blind side and kicked him in the back for 200 damage causing Shrio stumbled a bit but he quickly regained his balance.

Einhart attacked with another two punches at Shiro's head but he blocked by forcing his arms inside her swings and knocking them off course. He then threw a punch at her face but was stopped when she shielded it by raising both her arms up. As soon as his fist hit her arms, he used his other hand to punch her in the gut, causing her to double over. Following the motion, he spun his body around and smacked her across the cheek with his other hand before kicking her in the stomach sending her back for a total of 900 damage.

A sharp rainbow colored blast cut across his cheek, sending him off his feet with 500 damage but he caught himself with his hands and flipped himself back upright in time to block another kick from Vivio but it was enough to knock him off balance as she gave him a punch to the chin followed by one to the top of his head. He quickly got back up and threw an overhead punch down at her which she blocked by raising her arms up. However he followed up with an uppercut, breaking her guard and balance.

Continuing his assault he grabbed one of her arms and flipped her, throwing her on her back and kicked her away from him as Einhart rejoined the fight with a drop kick to his head, connecting with his arms as he blocked it but the force caused his knees to buckle, as Vivio got up and kicked him in the side, knocking him away from the duo. But Shiro remained on his feet and still had his arms up ready for another round.

"**What wondrous technique from both sides! Miss Stratos is now at 1200 hit points, Miss Takamachi is at 800 while Mister Shiro still has 2850! It's going to be close ladies and gentlemen!"** Came the commentary, which seemed to have stopped when the audience had held their breath during the silent half minute exchange between the three of them.

"Wait a minute..." Shiro said suddenly. "Are we forgetting something?"

The girls exchanged thoughtful glances before answering.

"Now that he mentions it..." Einhart began.

"Where's Rio-chan?" Vivio finished.

""Ah!"" Both girls gasped at the same time and pointed at something behind Shiro who immediately turned around, expecting the other girl to be running up to them, bringing her flaming accomplice, only to see an empty street.

"Son of a bi-" he muttered as he felt two heavy thuds on the back of his head, sending him crashing into a nearby building.

"Wow, he's right," Vivio said with a mischievous grin on her face. "It really does work."

"I still prefer a straight up fight like before though," Einhart said as the man shoved the rocks off his body.

"See, you're learning," The man said with a smile on his face, even though he just took another 1000 damage for falling for a stupid trick. "Even if it's at my expense."

His musings were interrupted by a long continuous scream. Turning to his right, he spotted the familiar pink cheongasm girl running toward them with tears in her eyes.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Why hasn't anyone helped me yet!"

"Oh, there she is..."

Spying his usual blade he scrambled to his feet and ran towards it, pulling it out of the building it had embedded itself into when it flew through the lightning dragon.

He then jumped into the and guided himself so that he would land close to Rio without being enveloped by the burning twister himself.

"Hey, why don't you take a break!" he said as he kicked the girl out of the way before nullifying the tornado with his blade. But he didn't stop there, he broke into a run down the street back toward the other two as he ignored the commentary, which said that Rio was finally knocked out of the match.

"_Sword In. Fist On!_"

"Down by total points...going to have to play this carefully," Shiro muttered as he smashed his gauntlets against each other. He then slammed his hands against the ground, creating a large concrete spike wall between the girls, and splitting them apart.

"Einhart-san!" Vivio called out only to see Shiro charging at her. She created a shield in front of her and stopped his punch for a second before jumping backwards as the shield shattered. Shiro smashed his gauntlets together again and charged past the scattered shield throwing another heavy punch at her. The punch was short allowing her to roll over his back and get behind him. However he quickly recovered and threw another punch with his right arm, but Vivio dodged that as well as throw her own counter punch, striking him on the side of the head. "Now! Accel Smash!"

A powerful rainbow colored uppercut to the chin sends Shiro flying off his feet, but he took it in stride, quickly kicking his legs. Using the knock back of the uppercut he somersaulted, his feet catching Vivio under the chin, knocking her straight up. He then landed on his feet and jumped up to where Vivio was and smashed her back onto the ground, reducing her hit points to zero and knocking her out as well.

"Damn...got careless," Shiro muttered. He now only had 1200 points left, leaving him at equal standing with Einhart, who just managed to break through his barricade to engage him, only spending a second to see that Vivio had been knocked out.

"**Now it's down to just one on one! Both fighters have the same amount of hit points remaining at 1200 and yet neither of them have shown any signs of exhaustion! It comes down to this folks!"**

The two of them exchanged glancing blows, neither of them managing to make a clean hit on the other. Shiro threw a right hook which Einhart caught with her right arm, spinning it and locking his arm, but he merely followed through by trying to elbow her head with his left which was blocked as well but he managed to get his other arm free.

Einhart countered with a left jab which Shiro parried by slapping it to the side. Einhart followed with a kick which grazed his chin but it gave her an opening to grab his arm for a throw but he broke free by pulling her hand off with his other hand and got underneath it to try and back hand her. She caught the arm before it got close, leaving them in a deadlock.

"Was this...what you wanted?" Shiro asked, trying to catch his breath as they both tried to free their arm from the other person's grip.

"Yes," Einhart said, taking long breaths. "I wish you fought like this from the start.

"Perhaps when we fight one on one at another time...oh...that's not good."

"What? Another trick?"

"No...that blade is going to blow up..."

He indicated with his head and a finger from the hand that Einhart had in her grip towards the large two-handed sword that he created earlier which was beeping rapidly. Both fighters quickly released the other as they dove away from the blade which erupted like a bomb.

* * *

><p>Einhart coughed as she waved her hand in front of her face trying to clear the smoke and dust from her vision. Looking over herself, she was covered head to toe in dust and her Armor was torn in multiple places, especially around her arms. She tried to get up but found that her legs weren't responding. Checking her counter, her heart dropped when she saw that she only had 30 points left.<p>

"Did we lose?" she wondered trying to see where the White Knight went. "Or did he get caught in the blast as well?"

"I did," came a voice behind her.

She turned around and saw the man standing there, pointing his sword at her. The top half of his Armor had been blown away during the explosion, revealing a well toned body covered in countless scars.

"But luckily, I still have 110 points left. Couldn't get to a shadow as fast as I would have liked, but it was still enough. Do you yield?"

She was about to answer when something in the sky caught her eye. Looking up she saw the roof above them was crumbling.

Noticing her expression, Shiro looked up as well, just in time for a block of concrete to fall, land, and shatter on his face. Einhart couldn't help but wince as the man remained frozen in the position for a few seconds before falling backwards as the small speaker on his counter said "Knockout!"

"Um...so is it a draw?" Einhart asked to no one in particular as even the commentator seems to have fallen silent at the sheer absurdity of the event.

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe you got knocked out by a falling rock," Shou said shaking his head in exasperation as Shiro simply huffed and turned his head away, rubbing the bandage on his nose.<p>

An hour has passed since the match, which was determined to be a draw since Shiro knocked out three of them and immobilized the fourth despite being knocked out himself. The two men were sitting on a bench in the middle of base grounds, with the festival still going on strong around them.

When Shiro had regained consciousness, Shou had spent a good ten minutes laughing at him for his carelessness, and then continued to remind him about it ever few minutes since then. After the other girls had regained consciousness, the five of them properly introduced themselves to each other, although Corona was looking at him with annoyance while Shiro merely returned her gaze with a amused smiled.

But the girls had left with Sakura and Marika, wanting to explore the rest of the festival, but not before Einhart asked Shiro for a one on one rematch, provided that he would fight seriously like he did toward the end, to which he said "No promises."

"But man, you sure have a way with ancient rulers," Shou said as he returned a greeting to a few soliders who passed them. "Now all you need to do is meet Ix when she wakes up."

"Ix?" Shiro asked softly, but Shou didn't hear him. "Why does she sound so familiar?"

Outwardly, he only sighed as he leaned back on the bench, just wanting the day to end.

* * *

><p>Authot's Notes<p>

So I ended up doing a little filler chapter, but I'll be damned if I didn't have fun with it. I've been a bit into Kamen Rider lately. It's the ONLY live action show I'll watch.

Thankfully, even though I've been watching the recent seasons of Kamen Rider, and writing a second fic, I still have time to update this, and with nice beefy chapters too. If you don't know what Kamen Rider is...shame on you. Look around for the episodes or at least some fight scenes. They're not ALL bad. The songs are also pretty damn nice like **Journey Through the Decade** or **Supernova**.

Don't forget to take a look at Code Magi Lyrical Rider if you're bored.


	12. Chapter 12: Reaching Towards the Past

**Chapter 12: Reaching Towards the Past**

It was the day after the festival. Most of the staff and personnel were busy disassembling their stands and equipment. Even though it was only for one day, everyone had a lot of fun, and the excitement high was still being felt by everyone. Today should just be a quiet and peaceful day.

"MARIKA KRISTINA LOWELL! GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE!"

Well, it was supposed to be one anyway.

The tiny gunner mage was sprinting across the field, holding what seems to be a brown office envelope in her arms, with the assistant chasing her with blind fury in his spectacle-less eyes.

"But these are precious memories!" Marika shouted as two of the base personnel moved to the side as she jumped over their stand while Daniel felt no need and crashed through the wooden stand like a wild bull.

"No cameras were allowed on base! How the hell did you even take those?" Daniel shouted at her throwing off the cloth that got caught when he crashed through the stand.

"A girl has her secret sources!" she called back as the two ran off into the distance, their shouts still heard but unintelligible at this point. Then another girl came stumping into the stand area gripping onto one to catch her breath.

"Did...did...two idiots...run by here?" Amia asked, using her free hand to clutch her chest as she gasped for breath.

"Yeah," someone replied. "What the hell was that about?"

"Marika somehow...got her hands...on...on..."

"Here, drink up," another person said as she handed Amia a sealed water bottle. The communications officer thanked her as she gratefully gulped down the entire bottle.

"Marika...got her hands on some pictures of the MC yesterday," she said after taking a deep breath. "And Nathan is trying to get them back."

"Ahhh..." was the reply of all the people present as they watched the two figures in the distance turn around the corner of the base and disappear.

* * *

><p>"The hell is all that racket?" Shiro asked as he lifted his head up from the pillow. His body was aching from the extensive use of magic that he hadn't used in three years and he wanted nothing better to do than lay down in bed and relax for the day, or until he got hungry, whichever came first.<p>

His thoughts wandered back toward the fight yesterday, specifically, on the girls' abilities and how they would hold up against the Guardeners.

Vivio and Einhart were obvious. Their martial arts skill augmented by their magic would prove to be more than a match for a Wolfshund, but he was unsure how they would deal with a pack, especially one lead by a König. They were insistent on a "fair" fight, something not given from animals with pack mentalities.

Then there was Rio. He never really dealt with her much other than see her shoot two elements at her. While impressive for such a young mage, he wasn't sure if the magic was strong enough to kill a Guardener, as he never let it touch him.

Corona's golems on the other hand, would definitely be an asset. Such destructive physical power would probably tear a hole in the Guardeners' ranks wherever it would shoot it's Rocket Punch. Of course, he wasn't sure how well it would stand up to a Eisen Tragen, but there were few things that could stand up from a punch of the Guardener class. He found out the hard way that he was one of them.

He glanced over at the table on the other side of the room where his device and blade rested. He hadn't bothered coming up with a name for the device when he first received it, but Sakura and Marika ganged up on him after the match, forcing him to name it or they wouldn't leave him alone. In the end, he called the device "Vorpal" but the device didn't seem to care either which way.

He was exasperated at Shou for the over the top transformation, but didn't hold it against him. It was pretty amusing to be perfectly honest, and it let him reminisce on the old lost days. He quickly shook his head with a sigh, clearing the pleasant thoughts from his head. Those days were far out of his reach now. He wasn't even in the same universe after all.

Sighing again, he got off his bed and picked up Vorpal and his "Null Blade" and headed out the door with the intention of getting some food and some air.

* * *

><p>Subaru was practicing by herself in the gym when she heard Daniel's voice.<p>

"I wonder what's going on?" she mumbled idly as she wiped the sweat from her head. She closed her eyes in concentration, as if trying to find a certain light amidst a hundred others. Finally she found it and her light made a connection with the other.

"_Sakura-chan?_" Subaru asked the girl telepathically. "_What's going on? What's Nathan screaming about?_"

"_Nothing too important,_" the other girl replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. "It looks like _Marika-chan somehow got her hands on photos of Nathan in drag from the festival and he's chasing her around the base trying to get it back. There's a pool for how long Marika will last before she gets caught._"

"_Oh? You're gambling now?_" Subaru asked, a wry smile forming on her lips.

"_Of course not!_" replied Sakura with a huff. "_If Okaa-san caught me, I'd be dead! Though if I was, I'd bet that she'd get away. And not because it seems to have the highest payout rate right now has no bearing for my choice. I simply believe my friend won't get caught._"

Subaru started to giggle a bit only for the link to suddenly disconnect, followed by a sharp pain in her eye. Her first reaction to the pain was to clasp a hand over her eye as she struggle to remain standing after the pain knocked the wind out of her. The second was to try and find where the "messenger" was.

Abandoning her stuff, she ran out of the gym, a hand still clasped over her eye as she looked up and down the hallway before picking a direction at random and sprinting down the hall.

And then she heard him. Even though he was no where in sight, she heard his voice.

"_Five hours. Five dozen. The Grand Cathedral. One more amongst them...DEATH._"

And then she saw it. Just a little bit of a black cloak disappearing around the corner. She ran towards it as fast as she could, not noticing the white figure stepping out of his room.

The two of them fell onto the floor with a crash as a dull pain spread across Subaru's side.

"Oww..." she groaned. She had crashed into the bottom of Shiro's sword and probably has a bruise now to boot.

"Not that I don't enjoy this comfort...but can you get off of me?" Shiro's voice sounded particularly muffled for some reason. Looking down, Subaru saw that his face was buried into her chest. She then proceeded to do the first thing that came to her mind. Scream and lash out.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry..." Subaru mumbled as Shiro struggled to get off of the floor.<p>

"No no...it's fine...didn't want...children...anyway..." the man strained in a very unnatural higher pitched voice as he tried to use the wall for support as he trued to spread his legs apart, but the pain kept them in place. Finally, he managed to regain control over his voice. "Impressive...leg strength...you got there...why were you in such a hurry anyway?"

"Oh right! There's going to be another Guardener attack!" she said standing up straight. "I need to tell Aoi-san!"

"And you can't just call her up to tell her...why?"

There was a short moment of silence between the two before Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation as Subaru turned a bit red in the face.

"I...I'm just gonna...go over there and call her then," she mumbled softly as she made her way around the corner and out of sight as Shiro just shook his head.

"Somethings just don't change..." he said with another sigh, this one filled with longing.

"Like what?" a voice startled Shiro as he whirled around to see the assistant holding a brown envelope under his arm.

"Like how people forget the simplest methods in favor of doing something the hard way," Shiro replied.

"I see," Nathan said with a nod. "Will you be willing to help us in this engagement?"

"Of course. It's part of our contract after all. By the way, what's that you got there?" he asked, pointing at the envelope.

"Just some...contraband," Nathan replied, his eye twitching slightly.

"Really? Seems a bit thin to be holding anything useful."

Nathan's eyebrows shot up as he pulled the envelope from under his arm and opened it. The only thing inside was a single piece of paper. Shiro walked around behind Nathan so he could read it over the man's shoulder.

"Gotcha!" was all it said, followed by a small yet fairly detailed illustration of Marika's head sticking her tongue out at him. As if controlled by some mysterious force, Nathan's glasses slid off his face and fell toward the ground but Shiro caught it before it could shatter.

"I'm going to murder that girl!" Daniel screamed, causing Shiro to wince and rub his ear.

* * *

><p>"Here's your share of the winnings," Amia said handing a credit chit to Sakura who accepted it with a smile. "Men are so wasteful with their money, don't you agree?"<p>

"Alex-kun is pretty frugal though," Sakura said as she smiled at the large jump in her personal savings. "How long do you think it will be before Nathan finds out the envelope was a decoy?"

A loud scream coming from somewhere in the base answered her question instantly.

"I say about five seconds ago," Marika said as a round of giggles rang out through the room.

A quick beep followed by a video call screen opening up shut them up immediately.

"Oh good, you three are all in the same place," Aoi said, her expression dark. "Report to _The Spirit of Terra_, immediately. We have another engagement. It seems our 'guests' decided to attack somewhere up north."

"Where exactly?" Amia asked as the three girls stood up.

"Headquarters of the Saint Church, The Grand Cathedral..."

"Ixy?" Sakura asked.

"If they truly are after large sources of mana...then a King of Ancient Belka would be a prime target," Aoi said with a nod. "That's why you need to hurry up!"

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

><p><em>The Spirit<em> launched within the hour and arrived at the Catherdral within another half hour. There, they met with a small force of Knights from the Church led by Director Carim Gracia and Sister Schach Nouera.

"Captain Kimura Aoi, Task Force 501"Shadow," reporting," announced Aoi as she, Nathan, and Shou stood in front of the Church members.

"Thanking for providing us with this information," Carim said with a short courtesy bow. "I am Director Carim Gracia. Please don't take this the wrong way but, are you absolutely sure that those creatures will appear here?"

"The information came from the same anonymous source that told us about the previous three attacks," Nathan said pushing up his glasses. "Though we have no idea how exactly this person does it, we can only assume he's figured out a way to track their movements, or perhaps he is predicting their arrival through some form of scrying."

As the higher ups talked to themselves about their plans for defense and strategies, the Returners made their way out of the ship onto the field.

"Big place," Ed said, taking in the entire scenary.

"Is that your official description for the report?" Tea asked with a wry smile, though inwardly she was also impressed by the size of the cathedral.

"How are we supposed to cover all of this?" Sakura asked. "We don't even know if they'll appear outside or inside."

While the others chatted amongst themselves, Shiro remained quiet, lost in his own thoughts of the matter.

"_Three dozen...how could so many have gotten through...did something happen at the Sanctuary?" _he thought. "_They couldn't have been overrun could they? No if they had, then these attacks would have much more frequent and with even more enemies would have appeared. The Guardeners must have broken through one of the formations...how many more are dead?_"

Tightening his grip around his blade, he followed the mages around the Cathedral, keeping quiet in the back as he examined all the placement of the furniture and light sources, taking into account where the shadows are now, and where they will be when the enemy arrives.

* * *

><p>"Ahh...the wait is killing me..." Amia said as she slumped over her console.<p>

"Seriously..." Kasumi replied as she kept running her eyes along the battle map, looking for any signs of an early arrival. "The wait is so much worse for the heart than the actual battle."

"That's because the battle is so much worse for the ones on the ground," Aoi said with a sigh, tapping her fingers on the edge of her chair, watching the mission timer count down. There was only one hour left and everyone from _The Spirit_ was feeling restless, even some of the Church's knights were jumpy whenever someone tried to talk to them.

Ever since the giant mutant Guardener formed thanks to their failed attempt to capture it, no one from Shadow thought they were simple "tough but kill-able" creatures. They saw them as dangerous monsters that can really destroy their planet. For the knights, it was their first engagement against them and some were worried their weapons might not work against them.

"Morale is all over the place," Aoi mumbled as she rubbed her eyes with her thumb and middle finger. She then turned to Amia before asking, "Where are Subaru and Sakura?"

"They're currently in one of the private medical rooms," Amia replied. "It seems Mister Shiro is with them as well."

"They didn't evacuate her?" Aoi asked.

"According to the medical report..." Kasumi said, bringing up a monitor. "It seems Ix-chan's been having random attacks despite her comatose state. Moving her might do just as much harm as the Guardener attack."

"I suppose it wouldn't matter in the end," Aoi said, sighing in resignation. "Nathaniel thinks that they chose this place due to Ixpellia's presence in the first place. I'm inclined to agree on the fact that they're appearing so far away from their other arrival points."

"What about the last part?" Amia asked, turning around in her chair. "'DEATH.' What do you think they meant? Is it some crazy strong Guardener?"

"Shiro says that no one on his side ever considered a single Guardener to be known as 'Death' so it might be a just the 'idea' of death rather than a single entity called Death," Aoi began but quickly shook her head. "No, since he specifically mentioned it, it may mean that something else might show up. That's why we're going to be counting on the two of you to pay attention to your stations, understood?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Kasumi and Amia replied with a salute.

* * *

><p>"Who's this? Your twin?"<p>

Shiro asked the question as soon as he, Subaru, and Sakura entered Ixpellia's private ward. The man had raised a curious eyebrow and walked over to the sleeping girl, looking at her face and then back to Sakura's.

"No," Sakura said softly. "She's just a friend."

"Her name is Ixpellia," Subaru explained as she took out a handkerchief and wiped some sweat off of the sleeping girl's forehead.

"Ixpellia...Ixpellia...the name doesn't ring any bells," Shiro said after rapping his head with his finger as if trying to knock some information out from the bottom of his brain. "But for some reason I feel like I do know her..."

The other two stared at him. He doesn't remember anyone he should know but somehow he knew someone he never met before?

"Was it something I said?" Shiro asked, blinking at their shocked faces. "Because it's bothering me too. The first time I've seen this girl's face was on you, kind of." Shiro said pointing to Sakura. "And yet I feel like I've known her for forever...did I know her from somewhere?"

"Maybe you're mistaking Ix for Sakura-chan?" Subaru asked hopefully, as she placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders.

"Maybe...but I remember a red head not a brunette...do you know what color her eyes are? I want to say...green...?"

Again he was met with shocked stares.

"If you two are going to keep on doing that then I'm going to just stop talking altogether," Shiro said, feeling a headache coming on. "I'm starting to wonder if any of my memories are real now..."

Shiro sighed again as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and middle finger.

"I'm going to patrol the halls. You should hurry up and finish whatever you wanted to do and get to your positions."

When he closed the door behind him, the girls sighed to themselves.

"I don't get it...did Null Enders meet Ix-chan somewhere before?" Sakura asked, looking at her sleeping friend in worry.

"He didn't seem to be completely sure of himself though," Subaru replied. "Wait a minute...I remember Yuu-kun saying once that there was this strange computer that seemed to implant some information into his head. Maybe someone rewrote his memories using that same technology? After all...he isn't a cyborg anymore is he?"

"What kind of person has the power to do that? Turning a cyborg into a human?" Sakura wondered. "I'm starting to miss the simple life, where the biggest problem I had was worrying about homework and tests..."

As Subaru laughed at Sakura's words, she thought about how Null Enders didn't have any of the cybernetic enhancements he had all but flaunted in their faces, the same ones that were slowly killing him if Blau and that person had been correct. And yet here he was, completely natural except for the ungodly amount of power he had hidden inside his blood.

For the shortest of minutes, she wondered what it would have been like if she had been born naturally instead of from wherever the hell she came from, but the thought was quickly pushed aside. If she had been born normally, she would have never met her parents or sisters. She probably wouldn't have met any body she was close to in the TSAB at all.

The only reason she did was because she joined the TSAB out of admiration to her idol, Takamachi Nanoha who had saved her life when she was younger. From there she had so many fateful encounters like Tea and the Kimura family. No, she was happy with her current life and wouldn't change any part of it.

Except, perhaps, wanting Yuuki back home.

* * *

><p>A lone figure was making his way up the path to The Grand Cathedral. He was wearing a black suit with a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. When he got to the first gate however, he was immediately blocked by a pair of guards.<p>

"Sorry sir, but this area is under lock down," one of the guards said.

"Lock down?" the man repeated. "But I have an appointment."

"My apologies. If you can tell us the name of the person you were supposed to meet, we can get in contact with them so you can reschedule."

"I see...if that's the case, I was planning to meet with..._**The Flame King of Hades**_."

The guards' eyes widened when the man's voice changed to something demonic. Before they could react however, eight swords appeared around the man and flew at them, impaling their arms and legs, causing them to fall to the ground in pain.

* * *

><p>"Disturbance at the front gate!" Amia reported causing Aoi to jump up.<p>

"What happened?" she asked.

"A single man attacked the Church's knights stationed at the west gate! He's currently making his way through the checkpoints!"

"Aoi-san! Time's up!" Kasumi called out on the other side. "Multiple dimension rifts have appeared all over the Cathedral grounds! All forces are moving to intercept them now!"

"Showtime," Ayumi muttered idly as she took the ship's controls in her hands bringing them closer to the battlefield. The small frigate's cannons may not have been strong enough to take down the Gargantuan Guardener, but it did leave lots of burn marks so they may be enough to take down the basic Guardeners.

Suddenly the entire ship jerked to the side, nearly throwing Amia headfirst into her console.

"What did you do that for Ayumi?" the comm. officer asked, rubbing her nose.

"Bugs!" the helmsman answered.

"Bugs?" Aoi repeated.

"Multiple bogeys on radar!" Kasumi said. "It looks like one of the Guardeners that Shiro had in his report. 'Insekten,' I think they were called."

Aoi's eyes narrowed at the new information.

The Insekten were, like their name implied, giant insects. However, unlike the Wolfshund and the Tragen, they didn't look like any kind of single species. If one were to look at them from behind they would look like a rhinoceros beetle with the abdomen and stinger of a bee. From the front they had two large green compound eyes on the sides of their heads and four blood red eyes at the base of its large horn. It also had a mouth and a set of sharp teeth along with four mandibles.

Like any insect, it also had six appendages that should have been called legs, but they were anything but. The two limps closest to its head were shaped like the scythes of a mantis, while the other for limbs had something that looked like a human hand with four fingers.

Basically, it was like a Frankenstein of an insect, and according to Shiro, these things tend to swarm even more so than Wolfshund packs.

And if that wasn't bad enough, they still had that unknown entering from the west.

"Aoi-san, where should the troops deploy?" Amia asked turning to the captain who was still in deep thought.

On one hand, the Guardeners were a dangerous threat to everyone, magic or not. On the other hand, the cryptic warning they received from Subaru's mysterious visions said that they would encounter something called 'DEATH' while they were here. Was he talking about the unknown. However, from the security footage, it was clear he was only after the sleeping Ixpellia, who was deep inside the Cathedral.

"Tell all forces to focus their efforts on the Guardeners!" Aoi ordered. "The Unknown is a secondary target! Shadow's number one priority is to neutralize the Guardener threat at all costs! The Returners are to coordinate with the Church's Knights and do whatever it takes to take them down! All units, engage!"

"Yes Ma'am!" came the reply of every single Shadow mage as _The Spirit_ flew around firing its CIWS at the Insekten that got close to it.

* * *

><p>Back on the ground, the majority of the Insekten decided to ignore the TSAB frigate in favor for the large amount of ground side mages. They were also accompanied by a small number of Wolfshunds and Tragens. At the epicenter, there were two König Wolfshunds and a single Eisen Tragen that seemed to be leading the attack.<p>

Thankfully the majority of the forces had been paroling the grounds rather than the hallways, allowing them to quickly set up a defensive against them, focusing their efforts against the Guardeners rather than the Unknown that was quickly making his way toward the Cathedral.

"Who knows, with luck he'll kill some of the Guardeners he meets along the way," Ed said as he and Alex were back to back, surrounded by five Insekten that Ed was keeping back with a ring of blue flame. "Personally, I'm hoping he runs into that damn man-bear-mole thing..."

"But what if he's the one sending them after us?" Alex asked as he parried an attack from one of the bugs, and then quickly ducking as it tried to punch him with one of its many arms.

"Then I hope he runs into Shiro."

The man in question was dueling with a pair of bugs that were being backed by a wolf.

"Thirty Insekten. Eighteen Wolfshunds with two Königs. Nine Tragen with one Eisen. Sixty in total." the man counted as he sliced off one of the Insekten's scythes. "Just as Subaru's information said there would be. I don't like this...it's too convenient. There has to be a catch to all this information they are receiving."

Dodging another attack from the Insekten, he went to slash at the bug's side with his Null Blade, but the bug used its extra arms to catch him and hold him allowing the Wolfshund to make its attack.

"Damn it I hate you guys!" he snarled as he used all his strength to swing the flying bug into the path of the wolf like a giant bug bat. "I'm really missing the archer and lancer battalions right now. Teach me to over specialize in swords and guns that only shoot magic bullets with short ranged bayonets."

He then threw the Insekten on the ground and stood on its body as it thrashed out at him wildly with its many limbs. When it took a swipe at him with its scythe, he managed to pull his caught arms high enough so that it cut off its own arms instead. With his arms free, he shook off the limbs and quickly decapitated the Guardener, letting its body dissolve in a black mist.

"Next?" he asked as he turned his blade at the scythe-less Insekten and the Wolfshund. But the two of them did something that Shiro had never seen before. The bug launched itself at the wolf and began devouring it, ripping into side and taring out a large black gem before crushing it inside its jaws as it began to glow in a black aura.

"What the hell?"

Leader-class Guardeners sometimes absorbed members of the same type in order to evolve, but this was the first time he actually saw two different type actually eat one another.

"Oi Shiro!" Vita's face popped up in a video call next to him. "What the hell is going on? They all started eating each other!"

"You mean it's happening everywhere?" he asked as the black aura around the Insketen disappeared, revealing a completely different form. "Stop them! Kill the ones that are trying to eat the others as fast as possible! It seems that they are willing to cannibalize each other to gain strength to push kill us!"

"Damn...Vita said as she swung her hammer, completely crushing the skull of the Insekten trying to devour its fellow bug. "Just what kind of sick freaks are these things."

"The absolute worse kind," Shiro said as he ended the call as he stared at the new form in front of him and muttered, "Steigenden Insekten..."

The new Guardener answered him with a high pitch screeching roar.

They were the evolution of the normal Insektens. Its thorax having split into two, causing it to lose its stinger in favor of gaining two legs instead. Their bodies were much thinner than their basic counterparts and much taller. They also only have one scythe with the other limb holding up a large shield made out of scales instead. It's head was much smaller, only an eight of its original size. It had six blood red eyes at the base of its horn along with one compound eye shaped like a visor below the six red ones. It no longer had a jaw but still had a pair of mandibles. It also retained an extra pair of arms and its wings for flight.

"God...I _really_ hate you guys..." Shiro complained as the two began to duel.

* * *

><p>Subaru, Tea, Marika and Sakura were fighting together against a pair of Eisen Tragen. Due to the mass cannibalization from the Guardners their numbers had dwindled to the point where multiple mages and knights can keep them occupied at the cost of them being even more dangerous than before. All that basically happened was the Guardeners deciding to sacrifice quantity for quality. Something the mages did not want at all.<p>

"Uwaah!" Marika screamed as she jumped over the Einsen's fist, which hit the wall behind her, creating a huge hole in the side of the building. Hanging from a windowsill on the second floor, Marika could only gape at the destruction. "And Edward got punched by that thing?"

"Gear...Excellion!" Subaru roared as she rushed up to the second Einsen. Her speed allowed her to move past its first punch, allowing her to throw a left hook followed by an uppercut into its head, forcing it to stumble backwards slightly.

"Double...Revolver...Cannon!"

A cartridge shell flew out of both her knuckles as their gears began to rotate so quickly that they glowed red, empowering her next two punches, this time actually knocking the Guardener back, causing its feet to slide across the ground.

"Subaru! Jump left!" Tea called out and Subaru complied as the first Guardener brought its fist down at the spot Subaru was just at. Sakura fired some of her anchor points at the Guardener, keeping it locked into place as Marika landed beside Teana and both girls pointed their guns at the trapped Guardener.

"Crossfire..."

"Pulsfalken!"

"Shoot!"

"_Schütze_!_"_

The gunner mages unleashed their respective spells against the Guardener who had managed to free one of its arms and used it to block and or absorb as much of the orange and purple barrage as it could. However, the rate of fire was much faster than the Guardener's absorption rate, causing its arm to be riddled with holes, rendering it useless.

It let out a large roar as it tore its useless arm off its own shoulder and flung it at the gunners who dived out of the way. As the arm crashed behind them, it crumbled into black dust.

"Umm...a little help here?" Subaru called out, as she desperately dodged the Einsen that still had both its arms. Sakura quickly made her way to help. She fired an anchor point on the Guardener's foot and its extension attached itself to the arm above it, causing it to trip as soon as it tried to take another swing at Subaru.

But its partner wasn't going to be counted out. Even though it only had one arm, it seemed to have entered into some kind of berserker state. It let out a hollow roar as it lashed out at everything with its remaining arm.

Then, all of a sudden, they both stopped attacking. They remained still for about fifteen seconds before turning toward the main building of the Cathedral and jumped towards it, crashing through the wall as they got inside.

"H-hey! Get back here!" Sakura shouted as the mages ran after them.

"Guys!" Kasumi reported as three video calls opened up around them as the four of them ran inside the building. Shiro and Vita were on the first one, chasing down several Steigendens, Alex and Ed had one while they were chasing three Königs, with the last one showing the bridge of _The Spirit_. "We have a big problem!"

"What happened now?" Vita asked as she sent a small sphere at the closest bug, sending it crashing into a wall allowing Shiro to run his blade through it, splitting it in two.

"The Unknown has reached the main grounds, and as he did, there was a huge spike of energy coming from Ixy's body," Kasumi explained. "As of right now, every single Guardener is making its way toward her, the Unknown as well."

"There is some good news though," Amia said. "From the security footage, it seems that the Unknown is killing the Guardeners as well. About as quickly as quickly as Mister Shiro does too."

"What?" Shiro shouted. "Did you get a look at his face? How is he doing it?"

"No, his face was covered by a hat when he first showed up. Right now he looks like a floating shadow. As for his methods, it looks like he's using a combination of magic and a sword. Huh? He just...disappeared?"

"Shit!" Shiro swore as he increased his running speed, overtaking Vita who was flying, cutting through any and all Guardeners that were getting in his way. Finally he reached the end of the hallway, and disappeared into a shadow.

* * *

><p>A pair of Königs entered a room, their lances stained in dark red blood. They sniffed at the air before turning towards a bed at the side of the room. They both let out a low growl as they made their way towards the sleeping figure on top of it. As they reached out to grab her, their arms were suddenly relieved from their bodies. The Guardeners were forced back as they struggled to stay balanced on their feet, something that was now very hard to do because of the lack of weight on their left side.<p>

From the shadow behind one of the heart monitoring machines came a man wrapped in pure black cloth. On the left half of his face was a skull with one floating red eye in the center. On the right side of his face was a sheet of metal with no holes or openings.

The humanoid wolves roared as they tried to attack their assailant. The Unknown simply stepped forward, swinging his blade upward as he did, knocking their lances upward before bringing it down on the foremost Guardener's shoulder, severing the lance arm from its body, following with a diagonal slash up from the Guardener's right hip to his left shoulder.

He then reached over with his free hand and grabbed the other Guardener by the head. There was a crushing noise as he released his grip revealing five holes in the Guardener's head. The beast stumbled backward before its body began to swell and twist in ways a body should never be able to before exploding into a fine black mist.

In an instant, all trace of aggression disappeared from the Unknown's body. He turned his head toward the girl who had soundlessly slept through the short battle. Although his only revealed eye was nothing more than a ball of red light, they flickered slightly at the sight of the girl.

The Unknown removed the monitoring equipment from her body and stood between her and the sunlight coming through the window, casting a large shadow over her body. He then raised his hand over her only to stop when something white barreled into him. The two figures were sent crashing out the window in a rain of glass, rolling on the ground to break their fall as well as avoid the falling glass.

Both figures stood up, blades drawn and stared at each other. Two red eyes met a single one and both charged as their blades clashed. Or they should have.

Shiro's Null Blade cut through the other man's sword like a hit knife through butter, meaning his blades were magically constructed rather than forged from iron. Another quick slash allowed him to cut at the Unknown's chest, but underneath the black cloth he saw a thick metal breastplate.

The Null Blade could only cut through magic and things created from magic. It couldn't even pierce through natural or non-magical things unless there was enough force applied through it. Even then, the blade was dull, meaning it wouldn't do much damage anyway..

"That means..." Shiro mumbled as he sheathed his blade, but not before cutting his finger on the edge. "I need to do this the old fashioned way.

"_Sword Create!_" Vorpal shouted as two blades appeared in Shiro's hands as the blood panels flipped the space around it. At the same time, two long black strips extended from beneath the Unknown's cloak and slowly hardened into blades as well, making it a dual sword battle.

The sound of metal clashing together rang through the air as a white blur clashed against a black one before both separated and clashed together again. At the fifth clash, the Unknown had swung his blades downward toward Shiro, forcing the man's knees to buckle from the force. Even his feet sank into the ground.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he threw off the Unknown with his strength, causing the Unknown to land with it's back towards the sun. He looked up for a moment before returning his gaze to Shiro. Immediately, sections of the Unknown's shadow rose up and flew toward Shiro.

Shiro blocked them with a white hexagonal barrier, but stepped out of the way in case they did manage to pierce through it. He ran to the left, dodging and shielding himself against the shadow lances, trying to get around the Unknown, so that he can't use his shadow as a weapon.

Shiro tried to distract him by throwing of his blades past the shadow lances. His target simply turned his body sideways to dodge, sending the blade flying into the forest instead. Shiro smirked as the blade popped out from the Unknown's own shadow, and pierced the area where he was holding his sword, causing it to fall from his grip, but there was no sign of blood of black dust coming from the Unknown's body.

"Shiro!" A panicked voice behind him caused him to look back to see Tea and Subaru running and skating respectively up to him.

Shiro then cursed this momentary distraction.

One of the shadow lances caught him in the leg, causing him to stumble. But before he could hit the ground, the Unknown's cloak started to shimmer as it split apart, shooting dozens of long black strips at him. The stripes converged into a giant hand which lifted him up into the air and slammed him against the wall of the building, knocking his breathing mask off his face.

The cloth then pulled the unknown towards Shiro, who was stilled pinned to the wall, allowing the Unknown to get in a free attack. The cloth retracted the instant the Unknown swung his blades upwards in an "X" pattern, slashing through Shiro's armor, sending blood diagonally up the building's wall creating something like a bloody "V."

"KURO!"

"YUU-KUN!"

The two girls, in their horrified and furious states, accidently called Shiro the way they called Kimura Yuuki as they fired their basic shooting spells at the Unknown, forcing him away from the White Knight.

"That's..." Tea said as the Unknown looked at them. His red eye flickered slightly as his cloak began forming something that looked like a gun. Quite a lot of them too, ranging from handguns to heavy machine guns.

"Uh oh," Subaru barely got out as black darkness rained down upon them kicking up dust and gravel everywhere. However, none of the shots actually hit them. When the dust cleared, the Unknown had disappeared, showing that the show of force was just a distraction. "Where did he..."

"Shiro!" Tea shouted, as Subaru quickly turned her attention back to the injured man as she rushed up to his side behind Tea.

Shiro was in bad shape. He was barely breathing and blood was still dripping out of his wounds, but it looks like they didn't reach any of his organs.

"Aoi-san!" Subaru quickly opened a video call to _The Spirit's_ bridge. "We need to extract Shiro now!"

"Understood," Aoi replied as _The Spirit_ quickly, made its descent.

Subaru then quickly went to help Tea remove Shiro form the wall.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Teh gasp! Shiro has been completely destroyed by a sucker punch!

I'm having a lot of trouble writing the next chapter so this may be the last one for a while...sorry! Please turn your attention to Code Magi Lyrical Rider in the meantime as you wait it out. Hopefully I can get it finished before December.


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